Pub. 6 2016 Issue 1

Accounting Woodward & Associates, Inc.............................................. Page 2 CliftonLarsonAllen.............................................................. Page 7 WIPFLi...............................................................................Page 11 Attorney Julie A. Cardosi, P.C........................................................... Page 3 Consulting and Dealership Compliance Automotive Development Group...................................... Page 23 Reynolds & Reynolds....................................................... Page 18 Suntrust.............................................................................. Page 4 Scorpion........................................................................... Page 19 Dealer Management Systems Resource Management Group (Portfolio)................... Page 12-13 Energy Supplier AEP Energy...................................................................... Page 24 Financial Services Bank of America Merrill Lynch..............................................Page 5 CU Direct............................................................................ Page 7 Insurance Federated Insurance Companies....................................... Page 9 Zurich American Insurance Co.. ...................................... Page 17 stressed can weaken your immune system. Optimism and loving relationships with other people can play a part in keeping people healthy. The Best Way to Handle Confrontation Like emotional intelligence, the ability to resolve conflicts in a positive way is a skill, and it can be learned. What are some good ways to begin? • Look at the situation from the other side. This is a good idea for a couple of reasons. First, it gives you understand. Second, it can help you find empathy, which in turn can diffuse someone else’s negative feelings. Someone once said there is no piece of paper so thin it doesn’t have two sides. You should know what the other side is for any business conflict that presents itself. • Do your best to remove the possibility for any miscom- munication, and exercise some diplomacy. You won’t succeed completely, because communication and diplo- macy are high-level skills that challenge everyone, but that doesn’t mean you can’t put some real effort into it. Read everything from email messages to legal docu- ments carefully, and discuss anything you are supposed to sign with someone knowledgeable. Ask questions. Keep good records. Follow procedures that are designed to improve communication, and be very careful to return phone calls as quickly and courteously as possible. Try to identify potential problems early so you can deal with themwhile they are still small. You want the people on the other side to know you are being reasonable, respectful, and cooperative. As much as possible, give them every reason to make peace with you. • Learn from the past. Do you need to change policies or implement new procedures? What areas of your business are most likely to attract litigation? Which conflicts were resolved most successfully, and how did that come about? The deeper your understanding, the less likely it is that you will have a similar problem in the future, because you will know what you need to do in order to avoid it. • Don’t procrastinate. When it comes to legal conflicts, pretending it doesn’t exist is not a good idea. The con- flict may not be urgent today, but if you avoid dealing with it when it is easiest to do so, it may become both urgent and unavoidable. And unfortunately, “urgent” and “unavoidable” also means it will almost certainly become expensive. Have a way to fast-track problems in a timely way so that the necessary resources and exper- tise are available to figure out the right course of action as soon as possible. At the end of the day, its good communication skills and a willingness to problem solve that will help mitigate risks for law- suits. If you feel, however, that you are heading towards a legal situation, it is always best to consult an attorney for legal advice.  n Problem Solving — continued from page 21 A Publication of the Illinois Automobile Dealers Association Vol. 24 No. 1 INSIDE: IADAConvenes ItsFallBoardofDirectors Meeting inChicago,Nov.19-20,2015 MonthlyGoal=DailyFocus ProblemSolvingWhentheStakesAreHigh 22 AUTOMOBILE DEALER NEWS ILLINOIS www.illinoisdealers.com