“He’s so full of himself.” “He brought a NYCity attitude up here to Binghamton and that’s not going to work here.” “He was totally a commercial the entire time.” “His intro was too long. He talked too much about himself.” And that’s the feedback that was written down. The formalized Read more…
Too many times, well-meaning people cannot emotionally separate the personage of the other party in conflict from that party’s positions. To do this successfully requires an understanding of (and a caring about) the difference between principles and interests. Principles are based in values, traditions, and narratives that give meaning to Read more…
Nothing is more annoying than a persistently barking dog, whether you are traveling in a Persian caravan across the desert or you are a mid-thirties single woman in Manhattan in the 90’s. The majority of dogs bark, because of an instinct to do so in situations they perceive as being Read more…
Conflicts arise (or get worse)—both internal and external—when motivation wanes. Because it is easier to do the wrong thing (sometimes the more convenient or expedient thing) than it is to do the right thing (sometimes the least convenient and hardest thing) in a conflict, many people revert to the apathy, Read more…
The problem stopping most workplace innovation and change strategies, is that too many people–founders, funders, entrepreneurs, owners, and starters–have thought too little about how they personally and professionally respond and react to a culture built on change and innovation. We’ve addressed this before: You get up and go to work every Read more…
Choosing equipment, editing the sound, uploading the audio file and choosing the distribution platform are not the hardest decisions to make when starting podcasting. The hardest parts of the podcasting process are two-fold: Finding interesting guests AND Making the guest interesting. Finding interesting guests does not mean finding guests who are Read more…
I have been traveling around New York state for the last three to four weeks pretty consistently and I’ve got a few thoughts: The amazing natural beauty and landscapes of this state reflect what the original colonists saw. I can’t imagine what this state must have looked like to the Read more…
Peace builder’s have to be willing to get vulnerable in their marketing. In a professional field, dominated by people familiar with—and comfortable with—the way that the world worked under Industrial Revolution rules, this can be a difficult transition. Peace builders of all kinds—conflict resolution professionals, mediators, trainers, attorneys, social workers, Read more…
In a conflict, human responses range along a continuum, lurching through the stages of grief. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross in her 1969 book “On Death and Dying” described the five stages of grief as denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. When parties are hurt in a conflict, many seek revenge. That hot, Read more…
Playing chess is something that not everyone does. In the film Training Day, Denzel Washington tells Ethan Hawke that his moves on the street—playing criminals and cops against each other—are “chess not checkers.” The strategy and thought process, the impulse control and persistence, and the ability to tap into the Read more…