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Matthew Yglesias wrote an interesting piece (well-worth the read) on truth-telling at https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/5/30/15631710/trump-bullshit. His premise is that lying is when a person tries to convince his audience of the veracity of a false statement. BS’ing is the term he applies to President Trump, as Trumpian statements tend to be diversions, non-sequiturs, or impertinent statements. The bottom […]
May 29, 2017
A mediator by the by name of Jan Schau recently wrote about what traits learned from Mom help her as a mediator. The trait that struck me was one of fairness. To be a good parent, or a good mediator, one needs to be fair and impartial. This in turn leads to trust. As we […] […]
April 30, 2017
The amazing work of attorney/mediator , Kenneth Feinberg, was recently highlighted in INC. magazine. Mr. Feinberg has settled claims in such tragedies as the 9/11 lawsuits, Agent Orange litigation, and Boston Marathon bombings. As a mediator, Mr. Feinberg has developed strategies to close out litigious matters through wise use of mediation theory. What can Mr. Feinberg […]
April 29, 2017
One of the talents of President Trump was billed as his talent as a negotiator. Unfortunately, real estate and world politics share far less in common than we had imagined. Some of the failings of the new President center about the following character traits: You cannot promise to do something and then not do it. […]
April 12, 2017
Richard Haass is President of the Council on Foreign Relations. He often appears as a very insightful and well-informed “talking head” on the Morning Joe program. He was recently asked what the recent gassing on Syrian innocents can teach us about President Assad and past US policy. His statement can be paraphrased as follows: “We […]
March 12, 2017
Dr. Dan Shapiro of the Harvard Program on Negotiation makes a simple proposal for moving forward when a party is angered by some aspect of a negotiation. Ask them why they are upset. It is best to make this an “I” statement. For example, consider asking “Is there something that I said (or s/he said) […]
March 12, 2017
It takes two (or more) to get into a dispute. It is easy to lay the blame for the disagreement on the doorstep of the other party. Jacqueline Whitmore, an etiquette expert, cites 15 ways in which one can pick their battles wisely. Three of these suggestions, that center about the issue or personal accountability, […]
June 10, 2017
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