Building and remodeling breed strong emotions, and strong emotions breed disputes. As consultant Linda Case says in her remodeling seminars, "There will come a time in every remodeling project when the client will be very, very angry with you." Construction disputes may be inevitable. But if you plan for conflict, rather than hope to avoid it, it can strengthen rather than threaten the owner-contractor relationship. Mediation is perhaps the best way to plan for conflict, by providing an amicable way to resolve it. Unfortunately, few contractors know how mediation works and what it offers. Maintaining Focus Mediation means asking a neutral third party to intervene between two conflicting parties to help them settle a dispute. The mediator does not dictate the solution; he or she simply helps the two parties find a mutually agreeable settlement. As
