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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…
On 28 and 29 May 2025, John Sturrock gave presentations at the annual IAM Conference in Gold Coast, Australia, entitled “Shifting Sands”. John’s themes were Regressing from Getting to Yes: The Return of Zero Sum? and …
As a mediator, and therefore as someone predisposed to peace-making, the situation in Ukraine is deeply troubling. Is there a time when peace-making is redundant? We must hope not. The alternative seems too awful to …
The escalating situation regarding Ukraine brings a chilling reminder of the days of the Cold War which came to an end at the beginning of the 1990s with the collapse of the Soviet Union. That Scotland and Edinburgh played a …
What is the risk that the Ukraine situation is being approached by the West in a binary, dualist way? We cannot control President Putin but how we, or at least our politicians and diplomats, respond …
Effective inter-governmental relations among the constituent parts of the United Kingdom are essential in an era of increased devolution of powers, post-Brexit allocation of responsibility and contested narratives about the future of the (uncodified) UK …
“The only thing which will redeem mankind is co-operation,” observed the philosopher Bertrand Russell. Perhaps only a real crisis is enabling us truly to appreciate what this means and what it might take. What if …
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, …
On this referendum day in Scotland, I am writing this piece without knowing the outcome. By the time most of you read this, our future will be clearer. And by then, whatever the outcome, the …
Recently, we had cause to specify a form of mediation clause for a public sector contract. Here is a revised version of what we agreed. What do readers think? “Dispute Resolution 22.1.1 The parties must attempt in good …
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