Yesterday, I met with someone I really value. 

He talked about his father passing away unexpectedly and they hadn't been able to resolve a conflict between them that has lasted for years. 

Needless to say that he felt disturbed and sad that the last opportunity to resolve the matter with his dad had vanished. 

I feel for them, because I had a similar situation with my uncle who I haven't spoken to for the last 7 years of his life. And then... he was gone.

Both situations show that communication can easily break down. We think we are right and the others are wrong. We'd rather be right than be happy. We let our ego get in the way. 

In business, I see a similar dynamic undermining people's success.

We judge people that are different to us. We label someone a 'difficult' client or staff member. We call them all sorts of names, just to conceal that we don't know how to deal with them effectively.

Seriously - it's not about them, but all about us.

Blaming others is so...