Conflict Managed

This week on Conflict Managed we welcome Gavin McMahon. Together we explore:

Is this a technology problem or a people issue?

Formal vs. informal practices (how it should work vs. how it does work)

Boiling down business to the most basic parts

Leadership storytelling: leadership – the choices I make; storytelling – the amplification of those choices through stories

Developing collective good habits (culture) through storytelling

Building story narratives (showing), instead of telling

‘Why it’s good’ meetings

What’s better this week than next week? Improvement by inches.

Conflict Managed is available wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube @3pconflictrestoration

Gavin McMahon builds things. Once, it was submarines, sports cars, and steel plants—big, complex systems built on logic and precise plans. But plans have a funny way of falling apart when people get involved.

As Gavin tried to figure out why, one truth became clear: People don’t move without a story. Business is more than just strategy and execution—it is persuasion and inspiration too. So he switched gears, traded engineering for business, and earned an MBA in Innovation, Strategy & Information Technology from the Institute Theseus in France.

Today, as CEO and co-founder of fassforward, he helps companies shape strategy, leadership, and culture through storytelling. Over the years, he’s worked with some of the world’s biggest brands and learned that even the best ideas will go nowhere if they aren’t told well. Now, he’s written a book about it, Story Business: Why Stories Rule the World and How They Can Reinvent Your Business.

In Story Business, Gavin McMahon takes you on a journey from ancient cave paintings to billion-dollar tech unicorns, revealing how storytelling is a powerful—and undervalued—tool for driving business success.

 

Conflict Managed is produced by Third Party Workplace Conflict Restoration Services and hosted by Merry Brown.

#ConflictManagement #WorkplaceCulture #Communication #Connection #Podcast

This week on Conflict Managed we welcome Andre W. Thornton. Together we explore:

The gift of asking questions

Thinking through failure, and what it means

The 1440 method

What does your average perfect day look like?

O.S.E.ing

In conflict, there is always something to learn from the other person

People are likely to listen when they’ve heard

Leadership question: Why would someone volunteer to follow you?

Leaning into conflict to strengthen relationships

Andre’s new book, Disrupted

Conflict Managed is available wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube @3pconflictrestoration

Andre W. Thornton is the founder and CEO of Whitman Consulting, one of the top ten leadership-development firms in the US, which helps organizations grow their people faster than their challenges.

A former engineering director at Lockheed Martin, Andre spent sixteen years leading teams on advanced aircraft programs and capturing over $1 billion in new business before discovering his true calling: developing leaders.

His book, Disrupted, introduces the two stabilizers and seven accelerators that turn chaos into growth—a framework drawn from neuroscience, engineering, and two decades of coaching experience.

Andre helps executives and teams raise their baseline, shorten recovery, and lead with clarity in times of change. He lives in Maryland with his wife, Myesha, and their two children.

 

 

Conflict Managed is produced by Third Party Workplace Conflict Restoration Services and hosted by Merry Brown.

#ConflictManagement #WorkplaceCulture #Communication #Connection #Podcast

This week on Conflict Managed we welcome Michelle Hamilton. Together we explore:

What does it mean to be creative? And why is creativity important?

How to help people process and thrive with the extreme fast pace of change today

Holding ‘what’s in it for you?’ conversations at work about AI technologies

Seeing new technology as a great opportunity for intergenerational dialogue and collaboration

Valuing and listening to colleagues

Conflict Managed is available wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube @ 3pconflictrestoration

After three decades leading major transformations, Michelle Hamilton started two AI companies to close that adoption gap. That work led her to AnswerRocket, an enterprise AI firm, who recruited her to build a new global division focused on practical AI adoption and change management. Michelle’s stance is clear: measurable business outcomes only happen when leadership bridges the gulf between innovation and everyday execution.

Conflict Managed is produced by Third Party Workplace Conflict Restoration Services and hosted by Merry Brown.

 

#ConflictManagement #WorkplaceCulture #Communication #Podcast #AI

This week on Conflict Managed we welcome Artem Koren. Together we explore:

The communication skills leaders will need now and into the future

The impact of AI on work, learning, and human connection

Technology, isolation, and the growing challenge of workplace loneliness

How strong microcultures shape and strengthen organizational culture

Why drive and initiative matter in effective leadership

Conflict Managed is available wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube @ 3pconflictrestoration.

Artem Koren is the Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer of Sembly AI, where he is building a new category of meeting intelligence and enablement technology for professional services teams. With a background spanning systems engineering, enterprise consulting, and product leadership, Artem combines deep technical expertise with a strong understanding of how organizations operate—transforming everyday business conversations into structured insights that drive revenue, delivery, and decision-making.

Sembly, which Artem co-founded in 2019, leverages advanced natural language understanding to turn meetings into a source of operational intelligence—powering sales enablement, improving client delivery workflows, and helping teams capture and act on critical business information at scale.

Artem is passionate about using AI to augment human potential, enabling teams to work smarter, collaborate more effectively, and unlock value hidden within their day-to-day interactions. His work sits at the intersection of AI, enterprise productivity, and the future of knowledge work—pushing beyond simple automation toward systems that actively support how organizations sell, deliver, and grow.

Conflict Managed is produced by Third Party Workplace Conflict Restoration Services and hosted by Merry Brown.

#ConflictManagement #WorkplaceCulture #Communication #Podcast #AI

This week on Conflict Managed we welcome Masha Rusanov. Together we explore:

Identifying your default conflict pattern
What happens when you break your usual conflict script
Listening to the body’s “yes” and “no” signals in difficult conversations
Limiting beliefs that keep conflict cycles going
Finding alignment with colleagues, even in disagreement

The conflict is the enemy, not the people: uniting against the issue

 

Conflict Managed is available wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube @ 3pconflictrestoration

 

Masha Rusanov is a conflict resolution expert, coach, and creator of the Exhale-Explore-Engage method. Drawing on Internal Family Systems, somatic psychology, and conflict theory, she helps people break free from legacy patterns to live with integrity.

Masha’s new book, Repatterned: How to Transform Your Conflict Defaults and Reclaim Your Life, introduces a practical three-step framework for interrupting automatic conflict reactions and responding with clarity instead of conditioning. Blending neuroscience, psychology, and real-life stories, Repatterned shows readers how to pause, recognize learned patterns, and choose responses aligned with their values.

Masha lives in California with her husband and their blended constellation of children.

Conflict Managed is produced by Third Party Workplace Conflict Restoration Services and hosted by Merry Brown.

 

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