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My son, Kiaha, was just 3. He and I and my immediate family were having dinner at a steakhouse. Kiaha was chatting to himself and playing with the condiments on the table.

The hostess brought another family to the booth next to us. The father paused, then asked the hostess to reseat them. As they left, my sister leaned over to me.

“Did you hear what he said?” I looked at her. I hadn’t heard anything. “No. What?”

She told me that he had looked at Kiaha playing, then commented to his wife that he wanted another booth because he couldn’t handle any more “brats” that evening.

I. Saw. Red.

"Take him," I said to my sister, handing Kiaha to her. I needed to cool off outside. The man had just crossed the worst line with me.

The family was standing in the restaurant foyer and the father was still talking about being reseated. He saw me and stopped. I ignored him and went outside. My dad came out -- Kiaha on his shoulders -- to ask if I was okay. I said yes. He went back inside.

And then the man and his wife came outside and went to their car. My anger boiled again. So when they came back toward the restaurant, I confronted him.

“How DARE you say something so unkind about my son! He was playing quietly! How dare you!” I shouted into his face. The man began defending himself and his wife yelled back at me. Then I saw their eyes go straight up over my head. I knew what had happened.

My dad was behind me -- all 6’5”, 250 pounds of muscled Hawaiian. I gave a smug smile. Dad nodded at the man, who suddenly looked nervous, to follow him. I went back to yelling at the lady.

Not three minutes later, the man came back to us. “I’m so sorry for upsetting you. And I apologize for insulting your son,” he said, looking at me with intent, honest eyes. My anger immediately subsided. I thanked him, shook his hand then followed Dad back into the restaurant.

Dad explained what he did. He just asked what happened and let the guy talk. Turns out the family had been at Disneyland all day and everyone was worn out. The man felt bad for insulting a little boy. Then he said he’d apologize to me.

Dad defused the situation by just staying calm and listening to the guy -- very similar to the advice Amanda Ripley gives in her article about managing people who stir up unnecessary conflict. She talks about the importance of a “trusted mediator who can facilitate harder conversations.” Dad's wise mediation kept a nasty situation from getting worse.

How do you handle conflict entrepreneurs? Let me know! And invite others to subscribe to this brief and join our Workforce discussions.