Page 36 - GS210902

Inspiration

Recovering from a double cross

n business, as in life, people sometimes betray one business to help you avoid similar situations in the future.
another. For most, this is a rare event with minimal
impact. At times, however, an action can lead to Emotional fallout
I major upheaval. When this happens, you can't undo I can offer some thoughts on addressing emotional reper-
the past, but you can swiftly mitigate damage and move cussions when a colleague or business partner has thrown
one. you under the bus. I believe it's most important to realize
Reality check it's close to impossible to get other people to change. What
you can change is how you react to undesirable situations.
First, don't do anything rash. Before dashing off an irate
email or leaving an angry voicemail, gather facts. Find It's understandable if you need to vent your feelings. Pick
documentation of your agreements and correspondence. someone who has the capacity to listen to you without
Get an absolutely clear picture of what occurred and when. judgment, will respect your privacy and keep what you
say confidential, and will help you consider what actions
You see, it's possible you have received inaccurate infor- to take but not force a particular solution on you. This sort
mation about what just happened, misunderstood a key of venting typically has a calming effect that leads to more
communication or made incorrect assumptions. It's im- clarity.
portant to carefully evaluate the circumstances so you
don't plan for an unnecessary confrontation. The future
If, indeed, it turns out you have been betrayed, don't draw
If all the information you've received is accurate and you negative conclusions about all potential business partners
haven't misunderstood anything or made inaccurate as- going forward. Do what you need to do to shore up your
sumptions, preliminary fact gathering will prepare you business, but don't separate yourself from others with dra-
well for deciding what to do next. conian defensive measures. There is a workable medium
Communication between being naive and being cynical.
Depending on the nature of the conflict, it might make Learn what you can from the experience, and move on
sense to communicate directly with the offending party with a dose of optimism. Some extreme betrayals have
about what happened. It's possible the person who ap- caused people to lose their entire income stream. But this
pears to have betrayed you has just made an inadvertent doesn't have to be a career-ending event. You can pick
error and, upon learning of it, will rectify it immediately. yourself up, set new goals and pursue them with enthu-
siasm. Your future depends on what you decide to do, not
Since every situation is unique, differences in degree of on what others do to get in your way.
harm done are vast. I am not a lawyer; I cannot offer ad-
vice on exact steps to take if the problem isn't due to a mis-
understanding that can be sorted out rather painlessly. At
this point, it's probably best to consult an attorney to guide
your next steps, as well as to address weaknesses in con-
tracts, other written documents, and the structure of your
Kate Gillespie, President and CEO
36