The Conflict Management Handbook
Management · Nº 61
The Conflict Management Handbook
Team, Partner, and Customer Conflicts, Resolved with a Method and without Taking Sides
You didn't start a business to referee fights. So why are you holding the whistle?
24 tools to read a conflict, fix the structure that keeps feeding it, and mediate without taking sides. With a spreadsheet and one school's cases worked through from start to finish.
You get 24 tools: a map of every open dispute and its cost in hours, a three-step ladder, a six-phase mediation meeting, scripts for the furious customer and the group chat, and a monthly dashboard. Plus a 7-tab spreadsheet and 15 ready-made texts.
A book explains the method. This handbook puts it to work: the tool, a worked example, and a spreadsheet with your numbers.
One-time payment of $29.00. The order form shows the final amount, with any taxes for your country, before you pay.
Digital delivery: PDF handbook, spreadsheet and access on the Consylion platform.
14-day money-back guarantee: if it isn't what you expected, request a full refund within 14 days of purchase.
Your order is processed by Digistore24, our authorized reseller. By purchasing, you accept the terms of use and purchase · refund policy.
Two people on your team haven't really spoken since spring. Your coordinator tells a customer yes, the front office tells the same customer no, and the customer calls you. A parent's complaint lands in the group chat and has a dozen replies within two hours. Your partner wants to spend the money on one thing, you want another, and that talk has been "next week" for six months. Every fight ends up on your desk. You settle it in the hallway. A month later, it's back.
THE SPREADSHEET
Conflict map spreadsheet
Use the completed example as a reference and enter your business data in the marked fields. Check the instructions and the calculations before you make a decision.
SOUND FAMILIAR?
Three situations this handbook solves
The same fight shows up for the third time
This time you don't settle it in the hallway. You check the map: what type it is, where it comes from, how far it has gone. If the cause is a rule nobody ever wrote down, you write the rule, give it one owner, and that fight stops coming back.
A complaint takes over the group chat
You reply once, within two hours, in three lines: thanks for raising it, we're on it, I'll call you today. Then you call, settle it one on one, and come back to the group only with what was decided. The message is already in the Template kit.
Two people on your team won't work together
You hear each one alone first, on the same day, with the same questions. Then a mediation meeting with three ground rules, a written agreement with names and dates, and two reviews on the calendar to see whether it held.
INSIDE
What you'll find in each tool
Five parts, in the order a dispute unfolds. Read the conflict: its type, its source, and how far it has escalated. Prevent it through structure, with one owner per decision, a team agreement, and a ladder. Mediate within the team. Handle customers and partners. Then the hard cases, rebuilding trust, and a dashboard that shows whether the system works. Every tool has a step by step, a worked example, and a short exercise.
WHAT YOU GET
Everything included in your purchase
- The Conflict Management Handbook in PDF: 24 tools, each with a step by step, a worked example, and an exercise
- The conflict map spreadsheet in Excel and Google Sheets, with 7 tabs, filled in with the example school
- The Template kit: 15 ready-made texts, from the who-decides-what chart and the mediation opening to the reply for the group chat
- 2 worksheets to fill in (conflict and mediation agreement) and a 30-day plan, one week per stage
- Access to your handbook on the Consylion platform
Full table of contents
The 24 tools, in the order you'll use them
Part 1 · Part 1 · Reading the conflict
- 01Company conflict mapEvery open dispute, between whom, since when, and how many hours it eats each month
- 02Task, process, or relationshipThe three types of conflict and why only one can help the team
- 03The five sources of conflictData, interests, structure, values, or relationship: the cause determines the remedy
- 04The nine stages of escalationWhere the dispute stands and what still works at each stage
- 05Interests, rights, or powerThree ways to resolve a dispute and why to start with interests
Part 2 · Part 2 · Preventing through structure
- 06Who decides whatOne owner for each decision, to end turf wars
- 07Team working agreementEight rules the team agrees on before the next dispute
- 08Conflict between departmentsDisputes between departments that depend on each other, resolved by fixing the process
- 09The three-step ladderDirect conversation, then the coordinator, then leadership, with a deadline at each step
Part 3 · Part 3 · Mediating within the team
- 10Restate before you respondAnswer only after the other person agrees with your summary
- 11The mistake of blaming the personLook for the cause in the situation before you look for it in character
- 12A separate conversation with each sideHear each person alone before you bring them together
- 13The mediation meetingSix phases, from ground rules to a written agreement with a review date
Part 4 · Part 4 · Customers and partners
- 14The five barriers to yesThe furious customer, and five steps to turn the conversation around
- 15Fair processVoice, criteria, and an explanation for decisions that upset someone
- 16From the group chat to a private conversationA complaint in the group chat, answered once and moved to a private conversation
- 17When two customers clashThe business in the middle, without taking sides and with the harm repaired
- 18The good fight between partnersDisagreeing about direction with data, alternatives, and a deadline to decide
Part 5 · Part 5 · Hard cases and making it stick
- 19When conflict touches identityValues, history, and pride: what to do when nobody can give in
- 20An outside mediatorWhen to call in a third party, how to choose one, and how to close the agreement
- 21Rebuilding trustA failure of competence and a failure of character call for different repairs
- 22The lesson in every conflictFour questions that turn a resolved conflict into a rule change
- 23In-house mediatorsFour trained people who resolve friction before it reaches the owner
- 24Conflict dashboardFive numbers a month that show whether the system is working
Who it's for
It's for you if
- You spend hours every week breaking up fights and want to settle them without picking a side
- Two departments blame each other for the same mistake, month after month
- You've watched a customer complaint take over a group chat and want a plan for the next one
- You and your partner disagree about where the business is headed and want to decide without splitting up
- You settle most disputes yourself, by decision, and the same ones keep coming back
It's not for you if
- You need scripts for feedback, warnings, or letting someone go. That's The Feedback and Difficult Conversations Handbook
- You want to negotiate price, deadlines, or contracts with customers and suppliers. See The Negotiation Handbook
- You need a partners' agreement or help with a partner's exit. Start with The Business Partners Handbook
- You want a team with no conflict at all. This handbook helps you resolve it sooner and closer to where it starts
Frequently asked questions
Does every dispute need a mediation meeting?
No. Most get settled in a direct conversation, the first step of the ladder. Mediation is for personal feuds, for disputes that have already escalated, and for the second step of the ladder. The handbook shows you how to tell which is which.
Can I mediate if I'm the owner?
Yes, as long as you're not one of the parties and haven't taken sides. When you or your partner are in the conflict, the handbook shows when to bring in an outside mediator, how to choose one, and how to close the agreement.
Will this work for my kind of business?
If people work together and you serve customers, yes. The example is a school, but every tool shows how it applies to services, retail, manufacturing and distribution, and independent professionals. You work with your own conflicts and your own numbers.
What if one side refuses to talk?
You hear that person alone and ask what would have to change for them to sit down. If they still refuse, the decision goes up to leadership and is made with a fair process: a chance to be heard, clear criteria, and an explanation.
What if the problem is harassment?
Then it's not a case for mediation or for the ladder. The handbook is direct about it: protect the person, decide as a business, and talk to your lawyer the same day. Where local rules matter, it flags what to check with your lawyer.
How much time does this take?
About 2 hours and 24 minutes of reading, or 6 minutes per tool, plus the exercises. The first map takes about 40 minutes. The 30-day plan breaks the rest into four weeks: read the conflicts, change the structure, mediate the highest one, then customers, partners, and the dashboard.
What do I get, and in what formats?
Each handbook is a PDF of about 100 pages with 24 to 27 tools. Every tool has step-by-step instructions and a worked example. You also get the handbook's spreadsheet in Excel (.xlsx), which opens in Google Sheets too, with the example already filled in. The message, policy, and clause templates are in the Template Kit inside the PDF, ready to copy and adapt. Read it in the member area or download the files.
How do I know if it fits my business?
Each handbook's page shows the problem it solves, who it is for and who it is not for, the full table of contents, sample pages, and the company used in the examples. The examples come from small businesses in several industries, with illustrative numbers. If it is not a fit, you can ask for a full refund within 14 days of your purchase, as described in the Refund Policy.
What is the difference between a handbook, an area set, and the Series?
A handbook solves one problem. An area set brings together every handbook and spreadsheet in one of the 6 areas, for less than the price of 5 single handbooks. The Consylion Handbook Series brings together all 100 handbooks and 100 spreadsheets, for less than the price of 8 single handbooks, and includes the next handbooks in the Series. Products outside the Series, from Consylion Life or Consylion Business, have their own price. They are sold separately and are not part of an area set or the Series.
Do I need to read everything before I start?
No. Each tool works on its own. Open the table of contents, pick the tool for today's problem, and start there. You can also read it cover to cover.
Do I need to know Excel?
The basics are enough: open the file and fill in the marked fields. The formulas are already built, and the handbook's example is filled in for reference.
How do I pay, and when do I get access?
By card or bank transfer, as a one-time payment with no subscription. Once your payment is confirmed, you get access to the member area by email. Approved card payments are confirmed right away. Bank transfers are confirmed when the funds clear. If access does not arrive within 24 hours of confirmation, check your spam folder and write to team@consylion.org.
How long do I have access, and how can I use the files?
Access does not expire, and you can download the files for offline use. The license is individual. You may read the handbooks, print them for your own use, and fill in and adapt the spreadsheet and templates with your company's data. If you are a consultant, accountant, or manager, you may apply the tools with your clients and deliver the result of your work, not the files. You may not share, resell, or distribute the files or the access.
How do support and refunds work?
Support is by email at team@consylion.org, on business days, with a reply within 5 business days. It covers questions about access, files, and payment. It does not include consulting or advice on applying the material to your case. You can cancel within 14 days of your purchase, without giving a reason, and get the full amount back through the payment method you used. Send the request to the same email. The details are in the Refund Policy.
CONSYLION HANDBOOK SERIES
The 6 departments of your business, for less than the price of 8 single handbooks.
This handbook solves today's problem. The Series solves the next one, and the one after that, with nothing more to pay.
- 100 handbooks with 2,403 ready-made tools, to read on screen and download as PDFs
- 100 spreadsheets for Excel and Google Sheets
- 6 business areas
- Lifetime access, unlocked once payment is confirmed
One-time payment of $197.00. The order form shows the final amount, with any taxes for your country, before you pay.
Digital delivery: PDF handbook, spreadsheet and access on the Consylion platform.
14-day money-back guarantee: if it isn't what you expected, request a full refund within 14 days of purchase.
Your order is processed by Digistore24, our authorized reseller. By purchasing, you accept the terms of use and purchase · refund policy.
Management · Nº 61
Stop being the referee for every fight
Conflict won't go away, and it shouldn't all land on you. This handbook gives you the tools, a spreadsheet, and ready-made texts to read each dispute, fix what feeds it, and settle it without taking sides. Whether people make peace is up to them. How each dispute gets handled is up to you.
See all 100 handbooks · $197.00
One-time payment of $29.00. The order form shows the final amount, with any taxes for your country, before you pay.
Digital delivery: PDF handbook, spreadsheet and access on the Consylion platform.
14-day money-back guarantee: if it isn't what you expected, request a full refund within 14 days of purchase.
Your order is processed by Digistore24, our authorized reseller. By purchasing, you accept the terms of use and purchase · refund policy.