" Another year is gone, so many things have happened, we have learned something...” sing the famous Bukis. At Carrillo & Asociados (C&A) it has been another year of being able to talk, share and learn with people of many walks of life, industries and professions, and exchange experiences.
Solving complex problems (the house specialty at C&A), allows us to learn constantly and expose ourselve to see cases and clients from different optics. It also allows us to understand the multiple layers of complexity we face and we learn from this every day. Today, we want to share some of the lessons learned this year with you.
We want to take advantage of the season to be optimistic, with the goal that these lessons will serve us to build a better world.
1. Let’s promote respect and seek consensus
Conflict has been rising as a global trend and this is concerning. If we look into the origin of many disputes, a significant number of them arise from avoiding difficult conversations when disagreements and/or abuses begin. In Guatemala and much of Latin America that we are used to coexisting with and tolerating abuse, we have normalized it. This can start at home when we allow family members to disrespect us and go all the way into business when we tolerate a partner and/or employee who takes advantage of their position to the detriment of others.
We often encounter these situations in the Firm and our conclusion is that several of them would have been solved sooner, and amicably, if we learned to communicate better, more assertively and set healthy boundaries from the beginning. We have learned that by talking with respect, assertiveness and empathy, we can help resolve disputes before going to the extreme of needing harsher measures to settle differences.
2. Let's embrace diversity
We all have friends and family members with whom we talk about football, religion, politics or other topics, without getting into fights. However, frequently, when people are different from us, we limit ourselves to listen to them, without considering their positions, arguments and reasons, and sometimes we are not even willing to listen to their ideas.
Recent local and global events present society as a war where two antagonistic sides seek to impose their ideas on the other by force. However, if we would just sit at the same table, listen with respect and interest, and debated with ideas instead of raising our voices, we would surely find that we have more in common than we think and that, often times, we start with common interests, such as building a better country and creating better conditions for all.
The last few years have taught us that the diversity and plurality that we have in Guatemala makes us stronger. We must stop being afraid of what is different because differences complement us. What is different generates value. We do not debate to fight; we talk to understand each other so that we can create something better together. As the saying goes, “if you want to go fast go alone, if you want to go far go together”.
Dissent is healthy. Debating from a place of respect and being open to listen and seek understating is necessary. This healthy coexistence will improve our lives, our companies and Guatemala.
3. Reality is more complex than it seems
In any confrontation, there are always at least two versions of events. To understand our counterpart, we must be able to put ourselves in his or her shoes and think like him or her. When we begin to think like our opponent, we will be able to better understand the underlying motives and his or her perception of reality. In addition, we will be able to identify common ground that will allow us to resolve our disagreements. Analyzing problems from multiple perspectives allows us to reduce our blind spots and become more balanced.
Often, when confrontations flourish, the parties are guided by their emotions, to the detriment of reason. Emotions may shield us from perceiving reality, but they allow us to believe in information that has not been verified and, consequently, our actions to resolve conflicts are not effective. We must be open to listen to diverse perspectives, to revise our perceptions, to test our beliefs and thus understand reality in a more complete way.
4. Vision for the Future
Five years ago, a pandemic sounded like something out of a science fiction book until Covid-19 suddenly brought the world to a halt and things changed radically overnight. This shock showed us that humans have the capacity to make big changes in short time periods.
So we ask ourselves, what changes can we start implementing today, without having to wait for another pandemic?
We shouldn’t wait until we are fined to start following traffic rules. Our bodies don't have to give us a health ultimatum to start changing habits. And we shouldn’t wait for the oceans to flood countries so that we start to take more forceful action against climate change.
How can we innovate for a better future?
Guatemala suffers from major structural problems, similar to those in other countries. Education, health, malnutrition, corruption and impunity are some of the challenges that most concern us. We must begin to address these problems with a collective vision of the future that will help us to plan and work together as a society on common long-term goals.
Seeking common goals and building the future requires listening and dialogue. We must have mature and honest conversations where all parties are willing to listen with respect, seek to understand each other's motives, and even compromise, in pursuit of the common good. Working in the long term is more challenging, requires more energy and effort, but the fruit of the seed sown in fertile soil is worth it.
From Carrillo & Asociados we wish you
Happy Holidays and a prosperous 2025!
