Thoughts and Insights by Michael Gregory

Here are some great tips for any negotiation at work, home or with others

Here are some tips on negotiating closure whether at work, home or in life. Working on my latest book (no title yet), one chapter relates to building bridges to negotiate closure. Researching for that chapter I discovered nearly 100 blogs on negotiations that had been written over the last five years. Researching these further and narrowing them down, I wanted to share with you what I see as some pertinent topics for your consideration. Take a look at the titles and see which may resonate with you. I would love to hear back from you on these or others that you found helpful or interesting.

This is how to encourage constructive conflict while collaborating

Constructive dissent if managed well can be very beneficial in finding a resolution to a conflict. The key is to encourage constructive dissent leading towards a collaborative process. Too much dissent is not healthy. It can become negative. Not enough dissent and good ideas will never rise to the surface. This article looks at how to promote the right amount of constructive dissent to have team members promote effective collaboration.

What can we learn from famous quotes about collaboration?

Some very famous and well-known people have been quoted about teamwork and collaboration. We know what collaboration is. It is simply the action of working with someone else to produce or create something. It is that easy. However, it is more than cooperation. Cooperation is simply working together. Collaboration something more. It requires participants to work together for a common goal. So, what can we do to further enhance collaboration with others and others with us? Looking at some famous quotes here are some lessons that we can we learn from and apply at work, at home and in life.

The Power of Three Related to Negotiations, Leadership and Motivation

We have been taught from an early age to think in threes. ABC, 123, three little pigs, three blind mice, three musketeers, gold-silver-bronze etc.  When we go to the store if we have only have three items to pick up, we likely don’t need to write them down or bring a list, but with four or more we probably should. Regarding the rule of three this article wants to present three applications of the rule of three associated with negotiations, leadership and motivation.

Addressing revenge in negotiations

Most people understand each other’s positions and often the interests of each other. The hang up can instead relate to other issues such as personalities, values, history and other elements not directly related to the conflict. In these types of conflicts, the desire for revenge, getting even and even hurting the other person can be stronger than the desire to resolve the issue. There are three things to consider in these types of negotiations. These are considering interests and values separately, engaging with each other to build a positive relationship and working to reconcile differences.

This is how to avoid conflicts in a family business around succession planning

It can seem like a maze when addressing conflicts in a family business. Running a business is hard and complex. Running a family business increases the potential for conflicts even more. Finally, when considering the next step around succession planning the stress level can really go up. That’s why many avoid the situation. With so many businesses in this situation this article focuses on common issues to consider when transferring a business to children. 

Bias awareness can significantly enhance collaboration

This past week I was fortunate to hear Sybil L. Dunlop speak on Implicit Bias at the Minnesota State Bar Association Alternative Dispute Resolution Section. She gave an excellent presentation and gave us a lot to think about. Doing some more research around this topic I wanted to share some of what I learned from her and additional research that I found helpful. Awareness is key.

Working with a crazy person - try self distancing

It has actually been found that speaking to yourself in the second or third person rather than the first person can change your emotional focus. Why is that important? When you find yourself starting to feel angry, this self-distracting technique can and actually will help you better regulate your emotions. This is a very powerful tool. The thing is to remember to do it. This is how. This three-step process can help you control your own temper and become known as the person that remains cool under pressure.  Both of these can help you with others, your career and at home.

Here are three great ideas to promote effective collaboration

Would you like to work in a more collaborative environment? Studying improv, generations and various sources it appears the keys for collaboration are diversity, equality and focus. That is, it takes effort. The more we focus on these three items with an intention towards collaboration, the more likely we will be able to create an environment for effective collaboration. Let’s take a look at all three.

These 9 tips lead to a successful partnership

There is no question that now is a very stressful time. At the same time the rate of change is as slow as it is ever going to be. Going forward the rate of change is growing at an exponentially rate. With that in mind how can you proactively partner with others given limited time in your day. Whether partnering in your firm, with clients, vendors or other stakeholders, this article provides you with 9 ingredients for you to consider for a successful partnership. This can be applied to actual partners in a firm, those that you need to partner with at work, home and in life. The same concerns apply in many areas of our busy lives. The question is whether we actually stop, pause and see where we are going. Here are some ideas for you to consider.