Project Feature: Conflicts!
Conflicts are unavoidable in everyday work life. If they are managed well, they may fuel better communication, stronger team dynamics, and improved project outcomes. However, if ignored, they turn into time-wasters, emotional strain, and misunderstandings.
Our unshakable documentary crew was allowed to shadow the project team at Dörner Meifelin for a day to capture the following scenes for the audience. No employees were harmed during this production (at least not physically).
Scene: Office Hallway
The copier rattles monotonously. Tim stands next to it, tapping his foot to a silent beat as if grooving to an internal song.
He notices the camera.
Tim (whispering, conspiratorially): “I’m here five minutes early today. Still waiting on the universe to reward me.”
A whistle. Shrill, like a bird of prey on the prowl.
Dietrich appears, sprinting at a speed only possessed by people who have no emergency but far too much energy. A stopwatch dangles from his neck, its display blinking red. His megaphone crackles briefly.
Dietrich: “Attention! Deadline moved up! Today is now yesterday!”
He disappears around the next corner. The megaphone echoes.
Tim stares into the empty space behind him.
He turns to the camera:
Tim: “Well. The universe delivered.”
Early Warning Systems
Location: Open-plan office, morning meeting.
The conference table is too small for everyone. But no one talks about it. Michel stands as if presenting a PowerPoint, despite the absence of any slides.
Michel: “Team. I don’t want to spread a panic…”
Everyone immediately looks panicked.
Michel: “…but we have a conflict.”
Cut to Oskar, scanning a mental list.
Oskar: “I mean… the last status updates were almost all just GIFs.”
He turns his tablet to the group.
A GIF of a hamster in a wheel.
Then a burning dumpster.
Then a hamster in a burning dumpster.
Oskar: “Well… yeah.”
Close-up on Stephan: Sudoku. Utterly relaxed. A pencil with an eraser. He erases a square with unnecessary care.
Phillippa: “Yesterday he only said ‘Square three, row four’ when I asked about the budget.”
Stephan draws a new line. Without looking up.
Stephan: “And it was correct.”
Michel exhales through his nose like someone trying not to justify their own tantrum.
Michel: “Friends. This…”
He gestures at the Sudoku.
“…is a silent cry for help.”
Stephan: “It’s more of an escape attempt.”
Michel casts a look at the camera: You see this too, right?
Root Cause Analysis
Location: Michel’s office. Door open. The atmosphere screams “interrogation.”
A chair is placed so close to the desk it feels like Michel wants to test how close a human can sit to the rim before it becomes uncomfortable.
Dietrich sits wide-legged, as if this were his office.
Michel: “Why did you move up the deadline?”
Dietrich (slightly proud): “Because deadlines are like wild animals. You have to catch them before they catch you.”
Michel pauses. Writes very slowly in his notebook.
Camera zooms slightly onto the page: “Ego-driven → Set boundaries. Clarify expectations. Ensure delegation.”
Michel: “The team felt… ambushed.”
Dietrich: “Surprise is a motivational tool.”
Michel blinks twice. A stretched silence fills the room.
Michel: “Have you ever considered that motivation can work without heart palpitations?”
Dietrich: “No, but I’m open to follow-up tests.”
Cut to the camera: Michel silently mouths the word Help.
Personalities and Conflict Types
Location: Meeting room. Whiteboard. Smell of markers.
Petra writes with zen-like calm.
Petra: “Three conflict types: task conflict: the deadline. Role conflict: who decides. Communication conflict: no rules.”
She draws a geometrically perfect table.
Michel nods with exaggerated seriousness.
Michel: “So: Time, power, and misunderstandings. The three musketeers of chaos.”
Dietrich (shrugging): “The musketeers were more efficient than this group.”
Tim raises an eyebrow.
Tim: “In this case, we have a communication conflict, I’d say. Dietrich didn’t communicate the deadline — he announced it.”
Dietrich: “Announcing is a form of communication.”
Tim: “Not when everyone screams at the same time.”
In the background, Stephan quietly tries to incorporate a Sudoku into Michel’s whiteboard table.
Petra silently shifts him a step aside.
Creating Conditions: Empathy, Cooperation, Persuasion
Location: Workshop corner, colorful chaos.
Michel has scattered cards across the floor like a therapeutic board game.
Petra holds a timer, checking it unfailingly every 20 seconds.
Michel: “New exercise: Everyone names a feeling. No jokes, no sarcasm.”
A remarkably long silence.
Stephan (with the enthusiasm of a fridge): “Neutral.”
Angelika: “I feel… tense. Because of budgeting.”
Dietrich (hesitates, then almost poetically earnest): “I feel like a General.”
Michel briefly opens his mouth, then closes it again.
Tim smiles faintly.
Tim: “Okay. General Dietrich. What would a General do to protect his troops?”
Dietrich straightens.
Dietrich: “He would set priorities. Sacrifice unimportant things. Strengthen the team.”
Petra’s mouth corners lift slightly.
Petra: “That almost sounds like cooperation. And empathy. Well… kind of.”
Camera zooms in on Dietrich’s face.
He looks as if he has just unlocked a new tool in his internal toolbox that he didn’t know existed.
Harvard Mediation (Michel Edition)
Location: Chairs arranged in a circle.
The table has been removed; everyone sits too close together.
Michel hands out printouts like parking tickets.
Michel: “Rule 1: Everyone gets 90 seconds speaking time. Rule 2: No interruptions. Rule 3: Separate person from position.”
Everyone nods like students trying to look well-behaved.
Angelika: “If I get a clear prioritization, I can reassess the budget.”
Tim: “We deliver the MVP first. Everything else is bonus material.”
Dietrich: “I accept a multi-stage deadline. But I’m keeping the stopwatch.”
Michel nods, satisfied.
Petra (dead serious, into the camera): “Harvard Mediation: Michel Edition. So basically less ‘Harvard’ and more ‘Michel.’”
Cut to Michel enthusiastically ticking a box on his checklist.
New Rules, New Roles, New Peace
Montage:
Tim writes clear role descriptions, murmuring: “Simple. Clear. No drama.”
Petra laminates anything that can’t escape.
Dietrich hangs up a whiteboard: “Deadline Negotiation: Mon & Thu.”
Angelika marks budget limits in an Excel sheet that’s almost pretty.
Stephan looks at his Sudoku. Sighs. Puts it away.
Fade-in:
“New (realistic) project goals set. Roles clarified. Communication rules implemented. Monitoring active.”
Staff members are satisfied and getting along again.
Epilogue – Two Weeks Later
The office: quiet. Focused. Keyboard clicking, no yelling.
Dietrich works at a normal pace and respects the new deadline.
Petra adjusts something on a board and smiles contentedly.
Stephan is actually working and saves his Sudoku for breaks.
Angelika looks noticeably less worried.
Tim types, glances at the camera, raises an eyebrow.
Michel enters the frame holding a mini trophy: “Survived: Team Project Q4.”
Tim (voice-over, calm):
“Conflicts don’t disappear. But if you spot them early, understand the causes, talk to each other, define clear roles, and add a pinch of humor… a project stays manageable. And the office…remains not life-threatening.”
Blackout.
One last beep from Dietrich’s stopwatch.
The End.