Earlier this week, I was preparing for one of my classes by reading the next chapter in the textbook. Although the chapter discusses basic negotiation strategy, it mentions the term “Boulwarism,” which intrigued me. It is named after General Electric vice president Lemuel Boulware, who used the “take-it-or-leave-it” tactic in [Read More]
An article in this week’s The Economist discusses the benefits of mindful breathing in reducing stress. It got me thinking that perhaps the parties in mediation should start the session with mindful breathing. The article “Can you breathe stress away?” discusses a meta-analysis published in Scientific Reports in 2023. The [Read More]
The Harvard Negotiation PON’s recent blog raises an interesting issue: in a negotiation should you set a goal? In “The Anchoring Effect and How It Can Impact Your Negotiation”, it answers “yes”. Noting that the “anchoring effect is a cognitive bias that describes the common human tendency to rely too [Read More]
In my final blog of the last four Decembers, I have reflected on the previous 525,600 minutes aka the year. Another 525,600 minutes have elapsed, and it appears that we are finally through with the pandemic. However, we are not through with Covid-19 (Or should I say that Covid -19 [Read More]
One of the most essential principles of mediation (if not THE most) is self-determination which “…is the act of coming to a voluntary, uncoerced decision in which each party makes free and informed choices as to process and outcome.” (Standard I, Model Standards of Conduct for Mediators.) Rule 1.01(e) of [Read More]
Most people attend mediation, fully engaged and committed to the process, hoping to resolve a matter. However, there are some who attend mediation with no real desire to settle, despite their outward claims. I had such a mediation the other day. It was court-ordered on the eve of trial. The [Read More]
The Presidential election reminded me of mediation: in both, one can not rush the process. Any attempts to do result in failure. Approximately, 107 days ago, President Biden withdrew as the democratic nominee and suggested that Vice President Kamala Harris take his place. She had 107 days to convince the [Read More]
Imagine you are having coffee with a friend in a coffee shop. You are sitting across from each other for about ten minutes. Where is your phone? On the table? In your hand? Out of sight? An interesting study discussed in a blog post on the Harvard Program on Negotiation [Read More]
