Listen to “#685 Why Your Small Business Should Not Avoid Conflict on Tough Issues” on Spreaker.
On this episode of The Small Business Radio Show…
SEGMENT 1 with Bernard Mayer and Jacqueline N. Font-Guzmán, starting at 0:00: Open conflict has become a part of our everyday lives. Whether it’s at work, on tv, or on social media, conflict surrounds us. How do we navigate this?
SEGMENT 2 with Shea Horovitz, starting at 20:00: Can a business have primarily a philanthropic mission and still make a profit? Shea Horovitz, co-founder of Eyeleos, shares his experience.
SEGMENT 3 with Edward Szofer, starting at 38:45: During the pandemic, so many small businesses needed to accelerate the use of technology to stay competitive with customers, but few knew how to do this. How can small business owners be better equipped to make technology work for their business?
Sponsored by NiceJob and Truly Financial.
More on each segment below.
Segment 1: Bernard Mayer, PhD is an internationally recognized leader in the field of conflict intervention. He is Professor Emeritus of Conflict Studies at Creighton University and was a founding partner of CDR Associates, a pioneering conflict intervention and training firm.
Jacqueline N. Font-Guzmán, PhD, JD, MHA is a Fulbright scholar with vast experience in conflict, healthcare, academia, and the legal system. She is an experienced lawyer, mediator, and facilitator. She serves as the inaugural Executive Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Eastern Mennonite University and Professor in their Center for Justice and Peacebuilding.
They are co-authors of the new book “THE NEUTRALITY TRAP: Disrupting and Connecting for Social Change.”
1:30 – What is “The Neutrality Trap”?
4:15 – When you’re neutral on an issue or conflict, you’re actually taking a stand.
6:45 – What does it look like to dig deeper into conflict in order to affect societal change?
8:30 – “Chaotic disruption” is hard to sustain and we need to strive for “strategic disruption.” What is the difference?
12:00 – Was “defund the police” a good slogan or did it hurt the cause?
14:15 – What role does conflict have in affecting change in an organization?
16:00 – Dialogue for the sake of dialogue isn’t enough to affect societal change. What is the next step?
Segment 2: Shea Horovitz is the Co-Founder of Eyeleos, the compassion-driven eyewear brand, which he created as a vehicle to create a kinder world and share his values of compassion, charity and respect with others. Shea and his Co-Founder, Shimi Strasser, are committed to telling inspirational people’s stories through Eyeleos’ styles and collections as well as to supporting the causes that they and their employees care for through ongoing charitable donations.
20:00 – Why build a company around a philanthropic mission to create a kinder world?
23:30 – How do you show kindness in your business with your customers and vendors?
25:45 – Everyone deserves to have their story told. How does Eyeleos tell people’s important stories?
28:15 – You appreciate an item more when you know the story behind it.
29:30 – How does your kindness help retain employees?
32:45 – Does your kindness make you competitive in the marketplace?
Segment 3: Edward Szofer is the president, chief executive officer and a co-founder of SenecaGlobal, where he leads strategic planning, corporate management, and operations. I worked with Ed when he was chief operating officer and a member of the board of directors of Whittman-Hart (NASDAQ: WHIT), he helped take the company public. Within four years, the firm achieved revenues of nearly $500 million and grew to more than 5,000 employees worldwide.
38:45 – Small business owners had to accelerate their use of technology during the pandemic. Why was this a problem for many businesses?
42:00 – Why do small business owners have a hard time putting technology to work for them?
44:00 – Which technology can make the most difference in a small business? Where do you start?
46:15 – How do you select an IT professional that you can trust?
48:00 – How do you find and retain your technology professionals?
50:00 – You’ve been working with some of your team members for 20+ years. How does this speak to the type of company that SenecaGlobal is?
