You know those times when you’re doing your best to do what you do, and you encounter one of those people who is completely off the charts CRAZY?

Every time you talk to this person, it’s like talking to a totally different person than the one you talked with yesterday.

You get gun shy calling at all because you don’t know which version you’re going to get . . . The nice one or the BEAST.

By all appearances, this person has decided to do everything imaginable to sabotage your world and whatever transaction is in play.

Don’t be a victim!

Disengage and regroup by constructing a chronological accounting of everything that happened throughout the transaction.

Review all of the documents and shift to a default of “rote modus operandi” . . . Follow the black and white, written original agreement.

Be as terse, pithy, and matter-of-fact as you can in all ensuing communications.

Whatever you do, don’t let’m see or sense you twitching.

Know that there’s likely something dreadful happening in the life of this “crazy person” that’s causing that person not to be nice and rational.

Perhaps Death, Illness, Financial, relationship (divorce) . . .

Don’t poke the bear . . . Be calm, cool, and collected and develop a mantra of “working together to do whatever it takes to get this transaction over the finish line.”

Remind everyone involved why we’re all together in this deal.

The Buyer likes the house and wants to live in it . . . The Seller wants or needs to move on to another house . . . Let’s not allow high emotions to deny them this opportunity.

After all we’ve been through together, I think we all have equal responsibility to maintain our composure and see our way through.

If you need to “justify” this difficulty with civil communication, just relegate it to the possibility that you’ve encountered a person who not necessarily “CRAZY” but may just be “oil and water personalities . . . irreconcilable differences.

The good news is that if you DO succeed in crossing that finish line with civility, you’ll each have more respect with each other.

and you may ultimately, after the fact, find some commonality with the victory.

Just some food for thought as I witness so many people struggling with other people’s ideas and emotions.

What say you?

About Barry Owen

Strategist-CEO of Pareto Realty Inviter-Facilitator-Practicer of Open Space Technology Opening safe space for people & organizations to self-organize around issues & opportunities Invite-Listen-Love