Guide 10

Before an avoided conversation becomes a dispute

Mapped

The situation

Something important is unsaid: with a cofounder, a customer, an employee, an investor, or someone at home. You are being polite, and the file of unsent sentences is getting longer.

The decision at stake

Whether to have the conversation now, with a clear ask, before it becomes a dispute you conduct in writing.

This guide is mapped. You can answer the questions and keep a note. The full essay, contrasting examples, and the longer branch for founders who have already acted are not written yet. Output to aim for: Conversation brief.

Questions to start the note

This guide is mapped, not finished. The situation, the decision, and the questions are here so you can start a record. The full evidence, the contrasting examples, and the longer “already acted” branch are not written yet.

1.Your name
2.Company
3.Who the conversation is with
4.What is the conversation you are postponing, in one sentence?
5.What do you want, and what might the other person want?
6.What fact, not a story, is the disagreement about?
7.What happens if you wait another month?
8.How will you start, where, and who else should be in the room?
9.What would a fair outcome look like if you were not the founder?
10.If the dispute has already started, what will you stop saying in writing until you have advice?

Saved on this device.

Open your record