We had an interesting discussion in our BizPsych meeting today. We were reviewing a recent organizational intervention and attempting to list the number of concerns that we had addressed and helped this particular business with. The list kept growing and was getting rather long when it occurred to me that a central theme had developed – most concerns had to do with helping the business acknowledge and address conflicts that they were avoiding. In fact, this seems to be the case in many of our interventions.  We encounter various organizations facing:

  • Potential harassment
  • Workaround accommodations
  • Money left on the table from dropping the ball
  • Potential lawsuits
  • Bypassing communication
  • Difficulty managing change

On some level, just like individuals and families, organizations are conflict avoidant and can waste innumerable dollars by not addressing these uncomfortable issues from the start.

With our theme of “Worry-Free Finances” for the month, my first thought was, “Finances are never worry-free in companies and organizations.”  So, on a personal level, what can make finances “worry-free?”  It’s precisely taking care of business by being proactive in managing ourselves and our finances so they don’t end up becoming a “worry.”  In doing so, we must address the conflicts or potential conflicts that lead to financial worry and potential ruin. We can’t ignore:

  • The harassing bills
  • Working within our budget
  • Leaving savings and earnings on the table
  • Financial protections
  • Bypassing communications
  • The unexpected

Look familiar?  Perhaps not exactly the same, but ultimately, we help organizations address the pain or conflicts they continually avoid or just cannot solve on their own.  Just like in our personal lives, the more proactive we are in addressing these potential conflicts, the more “worry-free” our financial states remain. When organizations call us in for proactive and preventative projects, the result tends to be much less expensive than it would have been should they have waited to search for solutions until things “blew up.” Even if they wait and call us in just at the last minute, the outcome is still far less costly than if an incident were to occur, such as: law suits, turnover, public scrutiny, bankruptcy, etc.  We have saved organizations huge sums of money by helping them address conflicts prior to these potential occurrences.  The irony is; we don’t always know how much we have actually saved them, because fortunately, these things don’t end up occurring.

Moral of the story: If you want “worry-free finances” in organizations, don’t avoid the looming conflicts.

Patrick Hiester LPC
Vice President of BizPsych
MINES & Associates