Someone recently typed three words into Perplexity AI: “explain HPtE to me.“ Perplexity is an AI search engine. It reads the web, synthesises what it finds, and produces a structured answer with sources. What came back was surprisingly accurate. It was also, in important ways, incomplete. I want to walk through the conversation that followed…
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been exploring a single idea from three different angles — and what it reveals about the conflict tax across the organisation is something every leadership team needs to see. The idea is the Conflict Tax — the compounding cost of avoidance. Not the cost of conflict itself, but the…
Finance professionals see the Conflict Tax in overtime spend, project overruns, and KPI contradictions. HR and IR Directors see it in grievance patterns and repeat disputes. But there’s a third perspective that neither fully captures — and it’s where the conflict tax in operations hits hardest. Operations. Operational leaders live with the Conflict Tax every…
HR and IR Directors are the most conflict-experienced people in any organisation. You understand conflict better than any other function — and the conflict tax in HR is costing more than anyone has measured. You’ve sat in more grievance hearings, mediation sessions, and collective disputes than anyone else in the building. And yet — most…
Every finance professional I’ve worked with knows their cost base inside out. They can tell you the variance on any line item, the trend on any cost centre, the forecast for any quarter. But there’s a cost most of them have never measured — and it’s costing finance teams more than they realise. I call…
Interest Based Problem Solving (IBPS) is more than just a conflict resolution tool—it’s the core methodology driving successful High Performance through Engagement (HPtE) Strategy® implementations. By focusing on underlying interests rather than positions, IBPS enables organisations to harness tension between competing priorities and transform potential conflicts into opportunities for innovation and growth. The Challenge: Balancing…
In today’s rapidly changing world, maintaining harmonious labour relations is more crucial than ever. This is especially true in industries like maritime, where smooth operations rely on the cohesive cooperation between management and unions. Recently, the Port of Auckland has demonstrated that what was once a fractious relationship can evolve into a thriving partnership, serving…
Imagine a world where workplace conflicts dissolve like clouds on a sunny day, where HR practitioners possess the secret key to unlocking organizational success. The Evaporating Cloud Method is that key, and it’s transforming the way HR professionals approach problem-solving and decision-making in today’s complex business landscape. Introduction In today’s complex and ever-changing business landscape,…
In 2013, Air New Zealand faced a problem that plagues organisations worldwide: decades of adversarial union-management relationships that drained resources, stifled innovation, and created a culture of mutual distrust. CEO Christopher Luxon called it the “Punch and Judy Show” — a theatrical performance where management and unions played predictable roles, fighting the same battles repeatedly…
In trying to improve organizational performance we often find ourselves overwhelmed by the intricacies of human behavior, societal dynamics, and the myriad of emotions and cognitive processes that drive our actions. The human system, with its vast web of interconnections, is a classic example of a “complex adaptive system” (CAS). But what if we could…
In the world of business models and strategies, we often come across words that are used interchangeably. ‘Customer’, ‘Client’ and ‘Consumer’ – each of these terms carries a unique meaning and relevance depending on the context. As we dive into the nuances of The 3Cs Model, an important question arises: which term should we use?…
“We are in the middle of one of the most profound shifts in human history, where the primary work of mankind is moving from the Industrial Age of “control” to the Knowledge Worker Age of “release.” – Stephen R Covey For centuries people have organised themselves into collective groups. We all know that when we…
In the context of sustainable high performance in an organization, the three-legged stool metaphor represents the three necessary conditions for achieving that goal: The first leg of the stool is Commercial responsibility, which refers to an organization’s ability to manage its finances, resources, and operations to ensure its long-term viability and profitability. This leg supports…
Interest-Based Problem-Solving, an approach rooted in addressing the underlying needs, interests, and concerns of all parties involved, has gained prominence as an effective method for conflict resolution and collaboration in the workplace. In addition to fostering stronger working relationships, this method can also accelerate personal growth and development. By incorporating elements of Robert Kegan’s Constructive…
It is estimated that employees spend 42% of their time engaging in or attempting to resolve conflict and 20% of Managers’ time is consumed with conflict-related issues. Masters and Albright (2002), in The Complete Guide to Conflict Resolution in the Workplace, point out that people thrive on conflict in most areas of their lives–football games, political debates, legal disputes–yet…
This Is Marketing: You Can’t Be Seen Until You Learn to See by Seth Godin Seth Godin has taught and inspired millions of entrepreneurs, marketers, leaders, and fans from all walks of life, via his blog, online courses, lectures, and bestselling books. He is the inventor of countless ideas that have made their way into…
“Ladies and gentleman. The financial performance is not enough. The real thing is the harmony within the company. If you have the harmony within the company the financial performance will arrive. If you don’t have the harmony inside the company the financial performance, even if you have them, will be lost. The real key is…
Alex Rogo, the new executive vice president of UniCo, must turn around three newly acquired companies, knowing that if he succeeds, they will be sold off and the new owners will replace him, and if he fails, the companies will be closed–in either case, he will likely be fired. Using the unique business-novel format, It’s Not…
This article was first published on LinkedIn by Dr Kelvyn Youngman. It is re-published here with permission. Introduction Very few people understand subordination. No, it’s true! In contrast, almost everyone understands exploitation. So, how can this be? Well, exploitation is instinctful and subordination is not. Subordination is thoughtful. We most easily understand exploitation, instinctfully, as a matter of…
“It would seem to be so self‑evident that maximum prosperity for the employer, coupled with maximum prosperity for the employé, ought to be the two leading objects of management, that even to state this fact should be unnecessary. And yet there is no question that, throughout the industrial world, a large part of the organization…
