One of the most heart lifting aspects of the collaborative economy is the rapidly developing practice of a professional barter system. This means a system where I exchange my skills, talents and resources (other than financial) for your skills, talents and resources (other than financial). Now let’s not Read more…
The most difficult skill set to master, even in our current post-social age, is the skill of managing other people. The recent changes and departures at Google serve as an example of this. No matter how “whiz-bang” the technology, people will always be at the core of a company’s focus, Read more…
Imagine if the entire Internet were encased inside the boundaries of the United States. Now imagine that all the original search engines, the ones that were around before the dotcom bubble, are in an area the size of the original 13 colonies, arrayed along a watery coastline. Now imagine further, Read more…
The most important part of any customer loyalty program is the employee part. Think about it. Customers in local businesses (and ALL businesses are local, even big brands) interact with people from the community in a front facing manner. Customers of local businesses then do work, do play and do Read more…
Conflict avoidance has a long and storied history. On this day, Good Friday, we recall that the Roman prefect Pontius Pilate “washed his hands” of “that whole Jesus issue” sometime around AD 30. The action (partially for the crowd, curiously enough) was symbolic, but symbols had mass meaning in times Read more…
At a certain point, in every speaking engagement we embark on here at HSCT, we are asked one of two questions: “How is it that you have so much energy?” And/or “Where do you find the time to get everything done that you do?” Also, we are accused of being Read more…
Feedback is part of a constructive process that involves collaboration and trust building. Feedback is a giving action, which should come from a horn of plenty. “No” is the beginning of a destructive process that involves competition and deception. “No” is a taking action, that comes from a position of Read more…
In a conflict or confrontation, it turns out that the right brain doesn’t know what the left brain is doing. The right brain, which controls creativity and negative emotions, reacts in a conflict to protect the rest of the brain by shifting to quick action and focusing on the conflict Read more…
Caucusing in a mediation happens when a mediator takes each party aside and talks to them privately about issues and concerns that the other party may not be open to hearing. In a divorce mediation, it could be about issues of infidelity, emotional abuse or unresolved anger. In an organizational Read more…
Phronesis is the Greek word meaning practical, or moral, wisdom. In a mediation scenario—where two parties are in conflict and they ask a third party to come in—phronesis serves a practical purpose. In a caucusing situation, when the mediator takes one—or both—parties aside to talk privately about issues that matter Read more…