About Us
Who we are
The Solutionist Group ("TSG") is an evolutionary advance on the conflict management work of Dispute Solutions Pty Ltd. Based in Melbourne, Australia, the company is privately owned and fiercely independent. It is led by Jon Kenfield, LLB, CA, FIAMA - a leading dispute resolver and professional business adviser for over twenty years.
TSG was established to help individuals, businesses and organisations develop skilful, strategic and creative solutions for most types of problem and challenge, no matter how complex. Using innovative and highly participatory processes, TSG works closely with stakeholders and guides them towards wise and constructive solutions.
Our approach produces durable and lasting outcomes, both through the quality of the solutions we help to develop, and through the skills we model and transfer to participants as we take them through our process.
What we do
History Lesson: TSG developed from the work of Dispute Solutions: over 10 years of dispute resolution and crisis management - from disputes between individuals; through commercial, professional and family businesses, to major business conflicts.
Dispute Solutions' main tools are facilitation , mediation and arbitration (and variations thereof). The company has an enviable record of success, with over 90% of all referred disputes resolved - generally for less than 10% of the time and cost that would have been incurred in conventional litigation. But we were always aware of the serious collateral and residual damage that resulted when otherwise rational people allowed their relationships and conflicts to deteriorate to the point where they had to call in external assistance.
We were (and still are) frustrated by the adversarial, competitive and unimaginative ways in which traditional professions service their clients - typically forcing client problems to conform to their professional skill sets - rather than working out what the problems actually need and then mobilising the right people with the right skills to produce an optimal response.
We believed we could do more. So we subjected ourselves to our own, most rigorous problem solving processes - and substantially advanced our thinking in the process. Eventually we developed a solution we were happy with - and the fact that it now seems so obvious belies the effort expended on the journey!
We called our newborn: Solutionism, a word we had to invent (and trademark) because, incredibly, we couldn't find a word in the English language that adequately encompasses the entire process of intelligent and systematic problem analysis and solution synthesis.
"Yin" and "Yang"
Taking a little licence with ancient Chinese cosmology we redefined our universe thus:
- YIN represents the destructive (negative) forces of life, being disputes and conflicts.
- YANG (the rest of the universe) represents the constructive (positive) power of creative and strategic thinking. It therefore forms the basis for all wise decisions and quality solutions.
YIN and YANG form a dynamic whole and life, as we know it, consists of an everchanging mix of both. When YIN and YANG are in balance, we enjoy serenity. Unfortunately, it ain't always there when we want it!
Dispute Solutions works mainly with YIN situations - merging problem solving skills and a solution-oriented approach with the formal professional and technical skills required to resolve disputes and conflicts within a conflict arena. Here we often work with lawyers, accountants and other professional advisers in formal, and in semi-formal, situations.
TSG works mainly with YANG situations - developing and delivering creative, strategic solutions for almost any type of problem or challenge.
When TSG deals with conflict (especially in family business), it takes a very holistic / relaxed / creative problem solving approach. In contrast, Dispute Solutions is usually expected to be a little more "conventional" in its dispute handling.
TSG's problem solving work is called Solutioneering. Typically, we are called in to help resolve profound challenges facing small to large organisations, private and family businesses, individuals and professional practices.
Most of our consulting and training work is delivered in response to specific requests coming from: individuals, small businesses and large organisations; and from trade and professional associations.
Please follow the links to the areas that interest you, or call us to discuss your needs:
The Solutionist Group
Business Solutions
Family Business Solutions
Skills Training
Problem Solving & Decision Making
Dispute Resolution
The Disputes we Resolve
- Property Disputes
- Parenting Plans
- Pre-Nuptial Agreements
- Post-Nuptial Agreements
- Partnership
- Workplace
Resources
Dipute Solutions
Decisional Processes
Facilitative Processes
Advisory / Evaluative Processes
Neutral Interventions
Conflict Management
Conflict Management Principles
Conflict Managed Organisations
Business Facilitation Services
Family Business Solutions
Family Retreats
Resources
Why Use Us?
Because TSG delivers genuinely practical solutions for a wide range of problems and challenges and Dispute Solutions does the same for disputes and conflicts AND,
We respond quickly to produce these practical solutions with far less cost, stress, mystery and confusion than conventional legal and other professional service providers.
Contact us:
Jon Kenfield LLB CA FIAMA MBO |
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Office: |
37 Park Street South Melbourne Victoria 3205 Australia |
Phone (1): |
0414 816 789 (preferred) |
Phone (2): |
+ 61 3 9645 9229 (city office) |
Fax: |
+ 61 3 9645 9228 (city office) |
Email: |
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Web: |
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