A Basic 3-Step Model to Help You Resolve a Business Dispute

“This is taking up way more time than its worth”. Those are words I often hear from people weighed down by a business dispute. As a mediator of business disputes (and other non-criminal civil disputes), here is a basic 3-step framework model that I commonly use to help people move from dispute to resolution. You […]

Respectful Workplace and Construction Companies

Employee: “What do you mean I can’t tell him to fuck off?” Boss: “No, you can’t. Our new Respectful Workplace Policy requires that people treat each other civilly and politely. Telling him to f-off won’t cut it anymore.” Established construction companies are in transition. Historically, the construction industry, especially worksite tradespeople and workers, more-or-less accepted […]

In Which Corner(s) is Your Conflict?

When in conflict, the source of the conflict can be confusing, never mind the way out!  Ken Wilbur’s Integral Vision is a handy, big picture, framework that can be applied to conflict management: Wilbur’s model is not dedicated to conflict. It applies to everything, literally, as I discovered in his A Theory of Everything.  Each […]

The book on Conflict Mastery

“You make me angry.” “Don’t get your noise out of joint.” “Settle down.” “Just ‘cause I said it, don’t mean that I meant it.” We use scores of phrases like these when involved in interpersonal conflict. If not spoken out loud, we speak them inside our head. Needless to say, our conflict directives rarely end the […]

Diverge Off The Problem Before You Converge On The Solution

To solve a difficult challenge, come up with as many solution ideas as possible.  Then “murder your darlings”.  Converge on the best idea.   Good ideas The story I most often tell myself about ideas is the one Steven Johnson articulates in his book, Where Do Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation. “Good […]