As recently as a few weeks ago this blog noted the distinction between public and private negotiation. Nevertheless, the current debate concerning raising the public debt “ceiling” seems to present a stark lesson on when to negotiate and when not to.
Jane Gunn’s new book is the first ADR volume I have read whose introduction begins “This is not a sex manual!”
Well, neither is it a self-help book, nor a reminder of the virtues of candid conversation, nor a refresher on the teachings of the Buddha or Jesus. Yet all that and more can be found in How to Beat Bedlam in the Boardroom and Boredom in the Bedroom (HotHive Books 2010).
This is not a book intended for mediators seeking to improve their skills, or for business clients seeking to manage their litigation portfolios. It is for human beings who wish to improve the way they live with other human beings. And it accomplishes its goal by contrasting business and personal conflicts and showing (guess what?) that they push the same buttons, walk into the same frailties, compromise our effectiveness and happiness in the same ways, and can be managed better with the same tools. Read more »
It is curious that, as formal training in private negotiation increases, the quality of public negotiation has fallen into such disrepair.
Business people negotiating a private deal are trained to listen attentively, in order to discover their counterparty’s interests, and to devise beneficial options that accomodate them. Yet listening is something one seldom observes in public legislative debate. Adjusting one’s view on the basis of what one hears, practically never.
Why is that? And might the ADR community have something to contribute to encourage creative negotiation of matters of public interest? The Council of the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution seems to have something to say about both those questions.
