Tips for visualizing resolution from the world of golf

“I hit a crazy shot that I saw in my head.”   That’s what Bubba Watson said, after hitting a miracle shot on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff with South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen, at the Masters Golf tourney last month. I was watching on TV.  And, here’s what it looked like: (if you […]

Use Participant Engagement Tools to help build consensus

A week ago, I was hanging out in Halifax, as a participant in the week-long International Association of Facilitator’s annual North America conference.  I was there to connect in-person with some colleagues I’ll be doing some work with, as well as to learn.  And learn I did. I self-refer as a mediator first, and facilitator […]

Online Dispute Resolution is a green business

Collaboration is good. There can be a result that flows from people working together, that surpasses the sum of their individual contributions. Such is the case with ODR: The next green giant, a paper authored by Noam Ebner (@NoamEbner on Twitter) and Colleen Getz, with background support from Susanna Jani (@DistanceProject). It’s about ODR (Online […]

Nowhere Else on Earth

With good collaboration, anything is possible. Collaboration in the Rain Forest Up the coast from where I live in British Columbia is a one of our world’s natural treasures, the Great Bear Rain Forest.  It’s the context for an epic collaboration, involving environmental groups, government, forest industry and First Nations.   It’s also the context for […]

Puente Theatre: Community Innovation

It’s from the edges of our life that some of our greatest opportunities for learning and growth come.  I can safely say theatrical experience is at the edge of my life. So, when I met with the Lina de Guevara this week, for a conversation, I knew I was going to discover some new things.  […]

Ride the waves: How participation in a Twitter chat can benefit you and your community

If you are looking for some experiential social media learning, in a supportive environment, Twitter chats make a good bet. I particularly enjoy the ADRHub.com Twitter chats.  They are held the last Wednesday of each month.  Most of the folks who participate are mediators, and other professionals, who practice non-adversarial approaches to conflict resolution.  We’re […]

The Railway Switchman and The Mediator: Your Relationship Guides

  The railway switchman and the mediator. So different, yet so much alike. Both focus on relationships. The switchman: Knows where the trains are coming from Sees where the trains want to go Looks ahead to the crossings and transfer points Safely guides the trains forward to their new destinations Like a switchman, the mediator […]

Looking Back: 30 Lessons for Living from the Wisest Americans

I’m a semi-regular viewer of the PBS Newshour.  I especially enjoy that TV program when it offers up a serendipitous connection.  A recent show did just that.  It included an interview of Karl Pillemer, noted gerontologist, and Professor of Human Development at Cornell University. The interview context was his new book, 30 Lessons for Living: […]

12 Steps to a Life of Extraordinary Collaboration

There is no shortage of big problems facing us today; in our communities, cities, globally!  These problems are complex.  There are many parts to the problem, and how all the parts connect together can be a mystery.  What the solution is, another mystery. What to do? Collaborate. (You knew I’d say that, right?) And, the bigger […]

Cinnie Noble and the Conflict Coaching Guild on LinkedIn

The coaches coach.  That’s sort of how I think of Cinnie Noble.  I’ve gotten to know Cinnie a bit over the last couple of years, through social media, and via reading her excellent book, Conflict Management Coaching: The CINERGY Model. The other day I actually had my first opportunity to chat with Cinnie, via Skype. […]