Genius or Jokerman It’s hard to say

What we have now is chaos all ‘round

What will we do?

What will remain?

It’s hard to tell

What we thought was sacred

Has now been purged

Ripped

Torn

RIFed

Removed

By DOGE or by Executive Order

POOF

Thirty years of Conflict Resolution Federal institutional knowledge and capacity - GONE

And yet, Conflict isn’t going anywhere

EEO complaints, litigation, miscommunication, team dysfunction, struggling leadership – that’s a constant

Conflict is a constant

Hourly

Daily

Weekly

It’s part of life

It doesn’t matter which Administration or political agenda is in power

Conflict is ubiquitous

To cast away the capacity to deal with conflict in a healthy way is folly

It’s a hubris that doesn’t save money or serve ‘the mission’

It won’t make the Federal Government more effective

It’s a penny ‘wise’ and a pound foolish

FMCS (Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service)

Department of Justice Community Relations Division

Numerous Conflict Resolution offices within other Federal Agencies

USAID

The United States Institute of Peace

The Peace Corps (!!!)

Nothing is sacred

And apparently, nothing related to Conflict Resolution is valued by this current Administration

Why?

Why is what?

What did we miss?

What caused them to see our services as worthless?

As a life-long Conflict Resolver and Peacemaker – it’s dumbfounding

Lack of trust, assumptions that lead to escalation, miscommunication that leads to dysfunction – that’s not going away

Cut as much as you like – these challenges remain

Conflict doesn’t care

And the folks who are actually suited to help you navigate this will be all gone

Forced into early retirement

RIFed

Fork in the Road

You name it…

So, what remains?

What will we learn?

When will it hurt enough for folks to reconsider their righteousness? (On both sides!)

ON BOTH SIDES!!!

It’s a fool’s errand to liquidate this capacity and the gains appear to be minimal at best

For as much money as is supposed to be saved, many-fold more will be spent

Because that is the nature of Conflict

If left unaddressed it derails and thwarts progress*

(*Take the number of hours or days that you focus on your conflict, multiply that by your hourly rate, then do the same for the others who are also involved. Then factor in your loss of productivity across the board.

Don’t forget about the hit employee morale, innovation and your reputation took

Ooh, and don’t forget to second and third-order effects that lead to employee turnover, litigation, and opportunity loss!!

And then add it all together…

Viola!

You can now calculate the impact of conflict on your organization!)

Stymies ‘mission success’ and costs billions from coast-to-coast

And delays the betterment of our Nation

All of that

And then some

So, now what?

I don’t know

And

I do

I know that our services have value

That they are essential to high-performing teams and organizations

Crucial to ‘mission success’

Essential for effective leadership

A life-skill

So, now we watch it all burn

And grieve

And hopefully learn

I would love to talk to folks in this Administration

To listen

To understand

And then to inquire

How does this all play out in the end?

How to you bring greatness back while you Peacemakers have been exiled?

Does it hurt enough now, to ask for help?

And remember – with upheaval comes reflection

What are we, Peacemakers and Conflict Resolvers, missing?

What don’t we see?

What was weaponized that thwarts accord and understanding?

We need to be introspective too

And to carry on

And do our best, nonetheless

Nonetheless

Carry on

And learn

Grow

Innovate

And ultimately, evolve

We may have to begin again

To return to ROI formulas

And remind folks of how costly unaddressed conflict can be

And hope that they will listen

Or, bring popcorn – and wait

I’ll be here

Ready

And hopeful that we all still strive for ‘a more perfect Union’

Because I most certainly do…