Whether two employees are fighting or a disgruntled client is on the verge of leaving, you—yes, you—can step in and help solve the problem. Here are some tricks of the trade. Conflict happens. It happens in all areas of business. When your employees spend 40 plus hours together each week, they are bound to run…
This post seeks to provide readers an update of a recent development in Singapore – the launch of the Primary Justice Project. While the Primary Justice Project does not relate specifically or solely to mediation, its goals are the same: the amicable resolution of disputes. During the State Courts Workplan 2013 (1 March 2013), the…
Intellectual life is beset by ‘gap’ problems. Philosophers wrestle with the ‘mind-body problem’: the gap between material and non-material aspects of human existence. All science can be construed as an attempt to bridge the gap between what is and what we can imagine: an inductive corrective to deductive supposition. Roger Cotterrell describes law’s gap problem…
Next week I am going to interview one of Hong Kong’s leading police negotiators, Dr Gilbert Wong, Commanding Officer of the Police Negotiation Cadre (PNC). When I first emailed with Gilbert, I was struck by the signature line of his email: “Who Cares Wins”. While it could be a mediator’s tagline, it is in fact,…
This isn’t going to be a long post but sometimes it only takes a few words to bring the point home. Recently I had a tough week. Tougher than usual anyway. Session after session of pain, anger, disappointment and frustration left me feeling a little burned out and generally fried. I felt like I had…
The legendary cellist Pablo Casals was once asked why he continued to practice at the age of 90. “Because” he replied, “I think I’m making progress”. It is an extraordinary acknowledgement from a man widely regarded as one of the greatest ever cellists. Let’s be clear – Casals was a colossus in his world. Fritz…
I have been reflecting recently on the individual and collective professional journeys we all undertake – and on the different stages we reach. My reading has taken me to a thought-provoking book by theologian Richard Rohr, entitled Falling Upward. Rohr’s thesis, put very simply, is that there are two stages to life. The first, necessary,…
I have heard the title of today’s post during CPR’s Business Mediation Congress , which took place last week in Brazil. It couldn’t be more correct: companies should not be in the litigation business, but in the business of doing business. With vast participation from different segments of the local business community, two important topics…
The UK’s Civil Justice Council has recently reported (http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/law/civil-justice-council-explores-online-dispute-resolution/5040975.article) on an initiative to promote online dispute resolution, through setting up an Advisory Group. Heading that group is Dr Richard Susskind, one the strongest promoters of ODR and of the role information communication technology (ICT) in the practice of law. In line with the EU’s Directive…
Story telling and humor are among the essential tools in any mediator’s kit. Of course, when it comes to humor, mediators learn early in their career that the self-deprecating variety is usually the safest choice. This turns out to be quite good for me since in my life there is no shortage of material to…
