WOW! My last blog post was a whopping FIVE years ago! The post before that one is from July of 2017. By the looks of my website, you'd think I'm complete off my game and/or out of the business entirely. In fact, I've been busier than ever both professionally and personally. My first kiddo was … Continue reading Spicy Or Developmentally Appropriate?
Tomorrow I have the tremendous honor of presenting at Fort Collins' Startup Week. As a hub for innovation (it's not just the birthplace of good beer!), Fort Collins has a thriving entrepreneur community and I'm excited to get to share some tips with this year's attendees. The workshop description says: We're all familiar with the … Continue reading Meetings People Want to Attend
Given the happily busy nature of this spring and summer, content blogging has taken a backseat to simply working as of late. Starting next week, I'm happy to be welcoming a new working group from the United States Forest Service to Denver. To help this group, I again want to offer some practical tips for … Continue reading Where Do you Eat By DIA?
Normally on my blog I share ideas for managing conflict, making the most of time in meetings, and ways that I see groups excelling at bringing out the best of one another in hard circumstances. This week I have the opportunity to with with a team whose members are coming to Fort Collins from all … Continue reading Making the Most of a Fort Collins Work Trip
As we've seen in previous posts, calling something "Interest Based Bargaining" does not necessarily make it effective. I would argue that some processes parading around as IBB, really shouldn't even have that name. In fact, I've started calling the processes I use "collaborative problem-solving" to avoid the confusion of IBB all together. Today we'll delve … Continue reading Interest Based Bargaining: Part 3
In my last post, I extolled the benefits of interest based approaches to contract negotiations. Today we'll delve into some of the misconceptions or myths about Interest Based Bargaining (IBB) as well as some of the drawbacks or limitations of this approach. Myth: Interest Based Bargaining is Fluffy, Slow, and Inefficient One of the common … Continue reading Interest Based Bargaining: Pat 2
This fall I had the opportunity to present at the 30th conference for the Oregon Mediation Association. In addition to getting to reconnect with friends and colleagues in Oregon and learn together with them, the conference and my workshop gave me a chance to dig into one of my professional passions, interest based bargaining (IBB). … Continue reading Interest Based Bargaining: Part 1
Following one of the most divisive and difficult elections in modern history, it feels like we're now left with a country that's more divided than ever. As a mediator and facilitator, I strive to keep my own ideological beliefs private and preserve an air of neutrality that will serve my diverse clients' needs. This is … Continue reading Difference, Dialogue, Discovery
It has been a hard couple of months. Last night the conflict that has laid bare the deep fissures in our country were brought to a head. This election's results were going to be historic regardless of the outcome. This morning I realize this history being a much longer story than I previously acknowledged. Although … Continue reading The Morning After
In case you missed it, it’s election season. While the campaign process doesn’t immediately conjure up ideas of introspection, thoughtful exchanges of ideas, and learning that facilitators typically support, there are still good lessons to be learned this fall...even from the presidential debates. Before the first debate I spent some time blogging about how the … Continue reading Election Armageddon: Facilitation Ideals for Debate Moderators
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