In virtually every mediation that bogs down, I am asked about the use of brackets. Brackets have their place but to state the obvious: the use of brackets will not change parties’ calculation of their
In my experience, apologies in business or civil litigation mediation are the exception not the rule. There may be good reasons for this but you should never underestimate the potential of a good apology for
Benjamin Franklin is credited with saying that “Necessity never made a good bargain!“ In his wonderful book, Practical Negotiating, Tom Gosselin contends that “In negotiating, power is a function of alternatives.” Gosselin is right,
One of the primary tenets of Roger Fisher and William Ury’s book “Getting to Yes” is that negotiations should focus on interests not positions, i.e., avoid positional bargaining. Positional bargaining takes place when each side
As a 49ers fan I have been intrigued by stories about the former head coach, Jim Harbaugh. His brother, Ravens coach John Harbaugh, tells the story of how as a Little League baseball player Jim
At a recent meeting of a trade group, the lunch time speaker was Mac Fulfer, a lawyer and professional face reader. So what is a face reader and why am I talking about it in
The first tenet of what Fisher & Ury call “The Method” is to separate the people from the problem. Although I think I understood their point when I first read the book, over time what
I have recently been reading a number of relatively new books with claims of a revolutionary new way to approach negotiation. Without exception and without naming names, each new source has been insightful and a
At one mediation I heard counsel accuse the plaintiffs of lying and engaging in “litigation lottery,” hoping for a big payoff. This mediation was over before it began. At another mediation, counsel for one party
It is the rare successful mediation that does not lead one party or both to wonder whether they could have gotten more or given up less. What makes mediated settlement conferences so interesting (and difficult)
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