Why Care? Measuring the Cost of Conflict
Take a moment to evaluate a conflictual situation you’re in at the moment. What is conflict costing the parties involved? What are the costs for the community surrounding the conflict – people such as family, friends, neighbors? Many of these costs we may not have thought of before or may not have totaled up.
| What is it costing? | For the parties | For the community |
|---|---|---|
| 1. How much suffering? (e.g. stress, anger, sadness, injuries, or deaths) | __ | __ |
| 2. How much money? (e.g. legal expenses, military costs) | __ | __ |
| 3. How much time does it take? | __ | __ |
| 4. How much damage to relationships? (personal, work, community) | __ | __ |
| 5. How much lost potential? (productivity, morale, opportunities) | __ | __ |
| 6. Other costs? | __ | __ |
How high a priority is it then for us to find a way to reduce those costs?
Once we realize just how great the costs of conflict actually are, we can appreciate the benefits of transforming our conflicts by mobilizing the Third Side, however difficult that may be.