A few months ago, I posted a quote on Twitter that a colleague sent me because she thought I’d like it. And I do. Here it is: The legendary cellist Pablo Casals was asked why he continued to practice at age 90. "Because I think I'm making progress" he replied.

Sean and Jason* have worked together for years. More often than not, they’ve worked at the same level in the company, though in recent years Sean has reported to Jason. It’s not unusual for them to have their differences, and the HR manager knows more than she would like to about their dynamic.

Mediation programs offer several advantages to any organization. They help staff members constructively solve problems, and they allow all parties in a conflict to air their grievances safely and work collaboratively toward resolution.

This article is aimed at clients working with collaborative practitioners, therapists, or counsel who need to document all their text message and email conversations for evidence or as reference (in the case of parent coordinators, for example), a summary of what to document, and how to document so that what they've captured is admissible in court, if required.

English Author G.K. Chesterton once said, “It isn’t that they can’t see the solution. It’s that they can’t see the problem.”  As an Alternative Dispute Resolution Specialist people often ask me why should I choose mediation to deal with conflict and other issues?

Think of a conversation you’ve been putting off. Got it? Great. Then let’s go. There are dozens of books on the topic of difficult, crucial, challenging, important (you get the idea) kinds of conversations. Those times when you know you should talk to someone, but you don’t. Maybe you’ve tried before and it went badly. Or maybe you fear that talking will only make the situation worse.