As the founder and CEO of the Core Solutions Group, I spend a great deal of time thinking and speaking about mediation, negotiation, conflict management, leadership and communication. I am told I should write some of these thoughts down… so, here goes…
“O, wad some Power the giftie gie us
To see oursels as others see us!”
I am writing this on Burns Night and reflecting on a recent conversation with an acquaintance. I left our meeting feeling deeply …
Gillian Bowditch’s description in The Sunday Times this week of the attack on a schoolgirl at Waid Academy in Anstruther, Fife, brought back memories from 50 years ago. In 1973, I became a pupil at …
Recently I attended events which got me thinking about the kind of society we are now living in – and the role of the legal profession in it. At the Scottish Mediation conference, Professor Gurchathen Sanghera, …
With Scotland’s constitutional issue set to take centre stage once again, many will be fearful that division and rancour may follow.
Back in 2014 and in subsequent years, the debate has often generated more heat than light. …
I did something recently that I have not done for well over two years. I addressed a large conference audience – in person. Prior to arriving at the venue, I had flashbacks to early days …
I have been musing about what a mediator might say to President Putin given the opportunity. That led me to compose a letter a few weeks ago, with which I have since tinkered. This is …
The Auditor General’s recent report on the construction of two CalMac ferries identified various failures. One critical aspect was the breakdown of relationships between two of the main protagonists, CMAL, the Scottish Government-owned ferry purchasers, and …
I was interested to read an article in The Scotsman last week referring to analysis by PWC which shows that almost all of the UK’s top law firms are seeing their fees and profits “top …
I posed these questions in my keynote address to the annual conference of the Arbitrators' and Mediators' Institute of New Zealand recently, in the context of the conference theme of New Horizons:
What if the way …
"What's been going on in recent mediations", asked a colleague. "Any highlights?"
The trouble with doing anything on a regular basis is that you can omit to reflect on the learning from each occasion.
So, for me, …