Free Resources & Downloads
Tools for the Conflict-Literate Leader
Real tools you can actually use. Guides, assessments, and reference materials built on serious conflict resolution research — not generic HR advice.
Free Resources
Practical Tools You Can Use Today
ADR vs. Litigation: The Complete Comparison
A one-page reference comparing ADR to traditional litigation across cost, time, confidentiality, and outcome control. Useful when you need to explain to a stakeholder why going to court isn't the only option.
BRIDGE Conflict Assessment™ Intake Form
The same intake questionnaire we use at the start of every engagement. Helps you understand the nature, severity, and systemic roots of a conflict before the first session. Twelve diagnostic questions across four dimensions.
The Conflict-Competent Leader: 7 Practices
A practical guide for managers and executives who want to get better at handling conflict — not just managing it. Seven evidence-based practices drawn from Transformative Mediation, Interest-Based Relational theory, and the Thomas-Kilmann framework.
Federal Contractor ADR Readiness Checklist
A 20-point checklist for federal contractors and agencies to assess their current conflict management infrastructure. Identifies gaps in EEO procedures, supervisor training, and pre-litigation protocols — with a recommendation for each gap.
Bridge & Gavel ADR: Overview Presentation
The full Bridge & Gavel capabilities deck. Practice areas, the BRIDGE Method™ framework, service tiers, pricing, and case study summaries. Share it with your HR director, general counsel, or procurement team.
All resources are free. We ask for your email and phone to send you the download link.
The Bridge & Gavel Blog: The Resolution Lab
Essential Reading on Conflict Resolution
Foundations
What is Alternative Dispute Resolution? A Plain-Language Guide
ADR is not just mediation. It's a family of structured processes — each with a different purpose, different power dynamic, and different outcome. Here's how to tell them apart.
Organizational
Five Signs Your Organization Needs a Mediator
Most organizations don't call a mediator until the situation has already cost them something — a resignation, a lawsuit, a team that stopped functioning. Here are the five signs that show up before it gets that far.
Federal Sector
EEO Complaints in Federal Agencies: The Case for ADR Before Formal Filing
The average federal EEO complaint takes 18 months and costs $40,000+ to resolve through formal channels. ADR can resolve the same dispute in 2–4 weeks for a fraction of the cost. Here's how.
Free Interactive Tool
Conflict Cost Calculator
According to the CPP Global Human Capital Report, U.S. employees spend an average of 2.8 hours per week managing conflict. Enter your numbers to see what that's actually costing your organization every year.
Your Organization
Formula: 2.8 hrs/week × employees × hourly rate × 52 weeks (CPP Global, 2008). Turnover estimate: 15% annual rate × 75% of salary replacement cost (SHRM, 2019).
Enter your numbers and click Calculate to see your estimated annual conflict cost.
Free Self-Assessment
What Conflict Pattern Is Active in Your Organization?
Five questions. Takes about two minutes. You'll get a pattern name and a specific recommendation — not a generic result.
Question 1 of 5
When a disagreement arises in your organization, what typically happens?
Our Theoretical Foundation
Evidence-Based Practice, Not Intuition
Every Bridge & Gavel engagement is grounded in peer-reviewed conflict resolution theory. Here are the six frameworks we draw from most frequently.
01
Transformative Mediation
Bush & Folger (1994)
Focuses on restoring communication capacity, not just reaching agreement.
02
Interest-Based Relational
Fisher, Ury & Patton (1981)
Separates people from problems; focuses on underlying interests over stated positions.
03
Narrative Mediation
Winslade & Monk (2000)
Examines the stories parties tell about conflict and co-creates new, more constructive narratives.
04
Restorative Justice
Zehr (1990)
Centers accountability, harm repair, and relationship restoration over punitive outcomes.
05
Thomas-Kilmann TKI
Thomas & Kilmann (1974)
Maps five conflict-handling modes to help individuals and teams develop adaptive conflict styles.
06
Conflict Systems Design
Ury, Brett & Goldberg (1988)
Designs organizational systems that prevent, manage, and resolve conflict at the systemic level.
Most Popular · Free Download
Five Moves Every Leader Can Make Right Now to Stop Conflict From Costing You
Conflict doesn't announce itself — it compounds quietly until it's a grievance, a resignation, or a lawsuit. This guide gives any leader five concrete moves to interrupt that pattern before it reaches that point.
- Identify the four early signals most leaders miss
- The one conversation that stops 80% of escalations
- How to address conflict without making it worse
- When to involve HR — and when not to
- The BRIDGE Method™ in five actionable steps
10-page guide · Grounded in the BRIDGE Method™ · Free
If you work in a federal agency, also read:
Free for Leaders
No cost. Just your name and email.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Free Download
The Workplace Conflict
Diagnostic Toolkit
A 12-question organizational self-assessment that helps HR leaders and executives figure out whether their conflict is a people problem, a systems problem, or both. Includes a scoring guide and recommended next steps.
- 12 diagnostic questions across 4 conflict dimensions
- Scoring guide with interpretation notes
- Recommended action pathways based on your score
- Based on the BRIDGE Method™ framework
Ready to Go Beyond the Guide?
The guides will give you a foundation. A 30-minute call will give you a plan. Tell me what's happening in your organization — I'll tell you what I'd do about it.