Thoughts and Insights by Michael Gregory

How can firms increase diversity among equity partners and team members?

Reading an article recently in the ABA Journal by Maria Antonieta Sager and her journey to become a partner as a woman of color attorney, and networking with Dr. Artika Tyner, the Director of the Center on Race, Leadership and Social Justice at the University of St. Thomas Law School,  after Dr. Arika Tyner read Maria Antonieta Sager’s article, I wanted to share with you some insights that help me and I think may help you with this title question.

Are women more ethical than men in negotiations?

Recently the Harvard Law School Program on Negotiation provided an article on this subject entitl

This is how to overcome your conflicts

The Collaboration Effect® is all about connecting relationships, listening actively, and educating judiciously in order to build bridges to negotiate closure. This is a core statement. Although many blogs have been offered through this site relating to the application of The Collaboration Effect with the IRS, estate planning, exit planning, working with difficult people and in many other areas at my blog site, I want to take this opportunity to spend a little more time on each of these elements of The Collaboration Effect. This commentary is a little more detailed than any of the other blogs, but is still simply an introduction to the topic.

This is how to interact with an IRS Estate and Gift Tax Attorney on a valuation issue

It was my pleasure to be interviewed by Melissa Gragg, the Managing Partner at Bridge Valuation Partners, LLC, via her pod cast on this topic. For those not interested in listening to a nearly 90 minute podcast with lots of details, here is a much shorter seven minute version sound bites on LinkedIn. However, for those looking for a quick read on some of the key points this may help. We discussed over a dozen questions and additional follow up questions, but here are some of the key points.

Exit Planning with The Collaboration Effect

If there ever was a profession where The Collaboration Effect® made sense it is in exit planning. Instead of individual specialists reaching out to a potential client wanting to exit a business, think about if they worked together and what a better result there would be for the client. This past week it was my pleasure to address the Exit Planning Institute (EPI) Twin Cities Chapter at the invitation of the Chapter President Julie Keyes and to meet the incoming Chapter President Mark Hegrstrom. I presented Collaboration for Exit Planners – Applying The Collaboration Effect®. They were very receptive and I appreciated their glowing recommendations. Here are some of the key points. We can all learn from this example.

Begin an Audit with the IRS with Collaboration

When you think of collaboration quite likely the IRS does not come to mind. Rather when you hear the term IRS you are not thinking of working together. Instead the thought of an IRS audit likely brings forth thoughts of anxiety, I don’t have time for this, why me and now what? With that in mind I thought explaining some basic tips after receiving an audit letter from the IRS may help. Especially as these tips relate to The Collaboration Effect. After all the IRS are people too.

IRS, The Collaboration Effect® and Estate and Gift Tax Audits- What do they have in common?

On July 14, 2020 it was my pleasure to be interviewed by Melissa Gragg, CVA, MAFF, CDFA and Manag

Here are three great ideas for addressing change

Research has shown that 58% of businesses reinvent themselves at least every three years. Think about that for a second. With Covid-19, one of those times likely for an even greater percentage is now. The question is how do you adapt? So, what should you do? These three suggestions from the Harvard Business Review are to flip conventional thinking. They are: Rather than “follow best practices” “share your failures” Rather than “if it ain’t broken don’t fix it” to “fix it anyway Rather than “control your assets” to “share your assets” The HBR article takes a look at these suggestions and provides you with some ideas looking directly at business results. In this blog article additional thoughts are presented for you to consider based on this author’s personal experiences. Both hopefully give you some food for thought from different perspectives to help you going forward.

Minnesota Nice, People of Color, Conflict Resolution, and Collaboration

After the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis Minnesotans are taking a good hard look at themselves. This is causing conflict at levels not seen here before at least in my time in Minnesota (since 1983). So, what does Minnesota nice, people of color, conflict resolution, and collaboration have to do with each other? Everything. Giving this some thought as a person that works on conflict resolution; diversity, equity and inclusion with the Minnesota State Bar Association with the board of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Section; someone that has taught on this topic; and someone who conducts regular research on this topic, here are some thoughts and ideas as Minnesotans wrestles with these issues.

Here is what you can learn from a COVID-19 doctor applied to BV negotiations with the IRS and other parties

Recently an emergency room doctor, Dr. Lorna M. Breen, working continuous 12 hour shifts in NYC committed suicide. This was very sad and points out the tremendous cost this is having on our medical and first responders. The Greater Good Science Center at the U of California at Berkeley responded with a neuroscience article on How Can Doctors Stop Burnout in a Pandemic? In the commentary that follows I take that article and apply the lessons learned here to communication in a hard negotiation. We can all learn from this tragedy. In the end taking time to build connections, listen actively, and educate judiciously are needed in business valuation too.