results in business

Business Support

Extensive experience is what sets Sharp Resolutions apart from other conflict resolution providers. While each situation is unique, companies large and small have turned to our team to help manage, resolve or avoid disputes. Below is a sampling of businesses who found solutions working with professionals from Sharp Resolutions.

These case study summaries are provided as informational only. Actual results depend on many factors. Contact us for more information. To protect confidentiality, names in some summaries have been changed or removed.

• Business Partners Transform Dissolution into New Opportunities through Mediation
  Partners in a multi-platform business for women entrepreneurs were unable to agree on future business plan and were contemplating dissolution. Each partner in the company had distinctive skills and assets which were brought to the partnership. Failure to address financial aspects of business between the partners, however, created conflict and a desire to end the partnership. Before seeking legal action, partners met with a mediator to discuss their financial, product mix, future plans and relationship issues. After discussing their concerns in a supportive environment, the partners decided to dissolve the partnership, but also agreed to continue working together by utilizing their shared strengths and spinning the partnership off into solo enterprises the various parts of their skills that did not enhance the group as a whole.




• House of Blues Engages Facilitator to Address Neighborhood Unrest Before Opening New Club
  When the House of Blues decided to replace a quiet restaurant with a new blues club, the neighborhood reacted strongly. After a series of facilitated dialogues between House of Blues representatives and concerned residents, several steps were agreed upon and undertaken by the night club to address the neighborhood’s concerns, including: construction of a retaining wall to block the sound; private valet parking to keep cars from parking in the neighborhood; trash pickup times altered so as not to disturb residents at odd hours; and, hours of operation were shortened without substantially affecting club revenues. Additionally, to address any future concerns, monthly dinner meetings were established to discuss and work through them – resulting in no additional facilitated meetings needed.




• Large Business Chains Agree to Open New Stores in Low Income Neighborhood Following Facilitated Dialogues A common dilemma in low income neighborhoods is the very difficult challenge of luring large supermarkets, superstores, restaurant franchises and other businesses to open there. Low income communities not only need the lower prices offered by larger chains, they also urgently need the jobs that would develop locally because of their openings. A large urban city Mayor engaged facilitators to organize and conduct monthly meetings to gather the community’s viewpoints and assist the Mayor’s office in creating a plan that resulted in major commercial chains opening in the neighborhood.




• Government Contractor Enlists Facilitator to Assist Creation of a Strategic Marketing Plan With a sizable government contract running out, a large Southern California nonprofit organization enlisted Sharp Resolution facilitators to conduct strategic planning for new marketing opportunities. Over two days, the facilitation team helped key leaders in the nonprofit and selected subcontractors in a step-by-step process to: identity their primary strengths; brainstorm multiple business options their individual and collective talent could offer their markets; select the preferred options; organize the company staff and independent contractors to develop the selections; and begin the chosen specific marketing plan process.




• Mediation Helps Director Resolve Conflict Arising After Hiring New Executive Staff As often happens in large organizations – be they business, government or nonprofits – the hiring or transfer of high level managers can lead to conflict with current managerial staff. Such was the case in a national park when a second in command transferred in and almost immediately clashed with the head of human resources there. After trying to address the conflict directly for several months without success, the director of the park turned to mediation. After two days of patient listening and helping the conflicting parties identify their primary needs and interests, the Sharp Resolution mediator facilitated the creation of a mutually satisfactory agreement covering future interactions and conduct, timelines and performance evaluation mechanisms.




• Facilitators Engaged to Address Serious Concerns of Residents and Environmental Groups Regarding Opening of New Quarry Following several years of unsuccessful legal and regulatory challenges, one of the country’s largest highway builders, Granite Construction Company, commenced construction of a quarry at Rosemary’s Mountain in Fallbrook, California to mine aggregate for road and bridge construction. At this initial construction stage, Sharp Resolutions was engaged to facilitate a series of dialogues between Fallbrook community residents, environmental organizations, local businesses and others with Granite Construction Company representatives. The focus of these dialogues was to address a wide variety of issues raised by these groups and the community regarding: air quality health concerns from dust created by the blasting and crushing of rock; traffic congestion issues related to the required widening of highway SR-76; water pollution questions; concerns about noise levels during blasting; and, others. In monthly meetings, Sharp Resolutions expert facilitators guided these concerned residents, community groups, environmentalists, business representatives and Granite Construction through a series of public forum dialogues to assist them in identifying and organizing the primary issues and then mediating consensus solutions to the address them – particularly those relating to pressing concerns about air quality health and highway widening construction. This consensus building process began in 2008 and is still underway; minutes of all dialogues and meetings, air quality monitoring reports and other information relating the quarry’s activities can be viewed in more detail at www.rosemarysquarry.com.




• Mediation and Facilitation Used to Calm Internal Management Environment A San Diego community development organization brought in Sharp Resolutions conflict resolution specialists to assist them with a very challenging and common problem in group settings: internal decision-making difficulties involving department directors and the executive director due to some personal friction and disparate viewpoints on how best to accomplish the corporation’s goals. To assist them in dealing with this problem, Sharp Resolutions created and implemented a process specifically designed to fit their unique needs that included three phases: first, by working out personal issues in a series of mediations between the conflicting individuals; second, by facilitating a consensus building process that helped the directors reconfirm their organization’s mission, identify their primary objectives and brainstorm specific solutions acceptable to all; and, third, by training the directors in conflict resolution and consensus building skills to help them to prevent and resolve future issues.

Sharp Resolution Mediators and Arbitrators Resolve a Vast Array of Business Disputes

For samples of the wide variety of court-referred and private cases mediated and arbitrated by Sharp Resolutions, please click here. To learn about how Sharp Resolutions can enhance your company’s ability to prevent and manage conflict, please click on dispute management and training.