Cinnie Noble- I am looking so forward to interacting with you during the month of June for ADRHub's virtual book club- featuring my book Conflict Management Coaching: The CINERGY Model.

My co-moderator is Tammy Lenski who is a dear colleague and incredible contributor to the ADR field. Before our first club 'meeting', Tammy will tell you about herself - for those of you who may not know her -  and I will share a little about me too.

As you know, the 'meetings' take the form of on-line discussions. If you have a chance to read the Introduction and Chapter 1 of the book for the first week, please do. Each week during the month of June we'll focus on 2 chapters. On a weekly basis, one or both of us will pose a few questions beginning June 3 and moderate the conversations as they unfold.However, if you have other questions you want to ask about the book or the concepts -  outside of the 2 chapters of the week -  please feel free to post those whenever you wish.

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Surprise: A New Coalition Government in Israel!

What a wonderful piece of political intrigue. What a great example of creative negotiation.  Sworn enemies are now allies in government. Netanyahu and Mofaz, Likud and Kadima.  Who would have thought? It’s as if Obama and Romney decided to team up rather than run against each other.   It appears that everyone in Israel was taken by surprise by this. Political commentators thought this was a zero sum distributive game, but it turns out that it really was in large part an integrative negotiation after all.

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THINKING ABOUT WHETHER TO RAISE THE ISSUE

Cinnie Noble- Not all of us know when, whether or how to be proactive and raise a conflictual issue with a person with whom we have an inner conflict. It’s a tough call at times and it takes some self-reflection to consider the pros and cons of doing so. There may in fact be occasions when we determine that it isn’t appropriate to raise a matter. On the other hand, if we are reluctant because we tend to avoid conflict it is important to consider that and what our objectives are for the situation, the relationship and ourselves. It could be that there will be a detrimental outcome by not facing ourselves and the other person. Under these circumstances it often happens that the inner conflict will continue to bother us and effect the relationship.

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Recovering From Mistakes Made in Negotiations: The Franco Harris Ni...

Here is what can be done in when a mistake is made in a negotiation that results an impasse:

1. Avoid going to the media to punish your adversary.
2. Acknowledge directly to your adversary that the negotiation got heated and that you made a move that you regret.
3. Take a positive step such as showing recognition of your adversary’s higher status to get your talks back on track.
4. Don’t ignore your mistake or you will deepen your adversary’s resentment.
5. Utilize the mediator to keep the other party from walking out in order to bring the talks back to a productive dialogue.

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The problem of access to and maintenance of the secrecy of contracts or contract terms that are “confidential” by agreement is a common one in litigation.

The recent pronouncements of the California Supreme Court in NBC Subsidiary v Superior Court and Universal Studios v Superior Court manifest a hostile public policy against such secrecy in public trials. An agreement to keep a document secret or confidential is insufficient to seal it; there must be an “overriding interest” supporting sealing or court closure, which has been interpreted to mean “a specific showing of serious injury.” Whether purely commercial interests (other than trade secrets) are sufficient is unclear. Given a choice, the party wishing to keep the document secret may decide that the risk of an unsealed filing may not justify public litigation.

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Why Mediation Might Be Best for Business Partner Breakups

Business News Daily published an article (May 17, 2012) that explains why mediation might be the better approach when splitting up a business - instead of handing the matter over to lawyers: The owners maintain control over the process, their business and keep the right to make financial and confidential decisions...

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