Lipscomb University president on better ways to handle business conflict

Lipscomb University President Randy Lowry

Looking for better ways to handle business conflict?
Instead of litigation, Lipscomb University President Randy Lowry — a dispute resolution expert — urges entrepreneurs to manage conflict themselves or take advantage of mediation, Bloomberg Businessweek reports:

Conflict between entrepreneurs and their partners, suppliers, employees, and customers hampers operations and often contributes to business failures, says L. Randolph Lowry, president of Lipscomb University in Nashville. He encourages business owners and managers to learn and use conflict management techniques and low-cost or free legal mediation. Lowry spoke recently to Smart Answers columnist Karen E. Klein. Edited excerpts of their conversation follow.
Karen E. Klein: You have been at the forefront of the dispute resolution movement in the U.S. What was the reaction when you founded the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University in 1986?
L. Randolph Lowry: At that time, no one had heard of it. Now every law school teaches mediation, and there are about 400 nonprofit neighborhood justice centers or community mediation centers around the country.
Many small business owners can also go to small claims court and get mediation to help settle their disputes. And in some parts of the country, the Better Business Bureau offers mediation services.

Read the full interview.