The Data Model Resource Book, Volume 3: Universal Patterns for Data Modeling

Silverston c10.tex V2 - 11/21/2008 3:20am Page 573

Managing Resistance and/or Conflict Regarding Patterns 573

data; it also helped to standardize and integrate data. People and other project

teams saw this and were less resistant. Afterwards, many other efforts used

the patterns, models, and common data services.

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS

Develop trust in character and in

competency regarding the patterns and the people who are socializing t he

patterns. Be open to suggestions, have a mindset of service first and foremost, and

earn the trust of others by showing results. Choose your first step carefully!

Managing Resistance and/or Conflict Regarding

Patterns

Our experiences have shown us that you are bound to have conflicts in

socializing any idea across an organization. Conflict may be a good thing,

when managed properly, because people often have differences of opinion. In

fact, some of t he most valuable insights regarding the patterns in this book

have been developed because of a difference of opinion between the authors.

However, when people are not able to effectively work through conflict, it

often creates difficulties regarding getting people on the same page. This

section provides ideas and suggestions for helping when conflicts arise, which

will probably happen at some point in time.

A classic conflict that we see all the time is the conflict between those

advocating the use of patterns across an enterprise ...