Separate the facts from the stories.

Rule #1 when dealing with any dispute or escalation is the need to get a clear understanding of what actually happened and in what order. Separate what is fact, interpretation and perception.

When speaking to people who are involved in a situation that has gone wrong you'll get different versions of what happened. People love jazzing up a story, often adding a bit of colour to make it even more interesting than it might otherwise have been. However, in a situation where the facts matter most, enhancing the story doesn’t help the cause.

My approach to solving any problems, commercial or otherwise, is to focus on the facts and the facts alone.

Why? Because it’s very difficult for anyone to argue against the facts.

The challenge is to ask the right questions of the right people. If you do this well the facts will become clear. Even after determining the facts, people often continue to push their version of the story because it suits their cause and supports their argument.

People can argue their version of the truth, but if it's not the truth it won’t stand up against the fact-based approach.