This is Part 1 of a two-part blogpost. Part 2 will be published in February 2024. This blog explores what narrative means for us in the field of conflict resolution as we navigate an increasingly complex global context. We humans love stories. Wherever we are in the world, whatever our culture, our beliefs and our…

Do you like this pair of cufflinks? This blog post is my sharing on how I had managed to purchase this pair of cufflinks in Melbourne.   I had taken a break in late October to travel to Melbourne to see my son who is doing a master’s degree there. On 26 October 2023, we…

In 2017, I wrote one of my most read articles on Kluwer: Elementary my dear Watson! At that time, artificial intelligence (AI) had already invaded our lives and much was being discussed about its potential to replace human beings. In my article, I wondered about the possibility of AI replacing the mediator. And the answer,…

  As long ago as 1981, in the very first edition of Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In, Roger Fisher and William Ury proposed the following novel negotiation method:   separate the people from the problem focus on interests, not positions invent options for mutual gain and insist on using objective criteria. Later…

Neuroscientist Hannah Critchlow’s latest book ‘Joined-up Thinking – The science of collective intelligence’ makes the case that the range and complexity of the challenges that face us a  species require an even greater focus on working together to harness our intelligence in its broadest sense. She argues that even though our success as a species…

In the famous story of Noah’s Ark, Noah questions God about how he will find the animals he has been instructed to put in the ark. God replies, ‘If you build it, they will come’. The consistent repetition of this quotation throughout history (think of Kevin Costner’s movie Field of Dreams ) has created something…

I recently had the pleasure of taking part in a workshop led by William Ury in which small teams of participants were invited to apply his BB3 framework to challenging situations they were confronting. BB3 brings together a number of ideas and approaches that Ury has contributed to the field of mediation and negotiation over…

One of the great joys of being part of the world-wide mediation community is the  opportunity to learn and keep learning from professionals whose practice is far from homogeneous. The generosity in sharing thoughts, ideas and even intellectual property is remarkable. Despite this, there is still a lot about the practice of mediation that is…

  The Daily Blogpost from the Harvard Program on Negotiation (PON) is always a great way to start the day. A quick read, it often turns something that I have been processing at the back of my mind into a more solid idea I can inspect and explore. This week, a particularly relevant post about…