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One Divorce Lawyer or Divorce Attorney in Mediation

Having a single attorney representing one party in mediation with the other party unrepresented by an attorney (called a “Pro Se” party) can be problematic because of the so-called power imbalance. This imbalance is brought about by the attorney’s knowledge of the law or greater ability to advocate or articulate the represented party’s position and…

How Churches Decline

Clayton Christensen argues in The Innovator’s DNA that businesses decline because in the early stages of a business there are many innovators but as the business gets established the innovators are replaced by managers and the innovators essentially go away. As innovators leave, so does creativity. Without creativity and innovation businesses cannot respond to changing times…

CONFLICT IN CHURCH

Church fights are even harder to resolve than divorces. Why? It’s because most people fight in churches about things they were taught, consciously or unconsciously when they were very young, often by their parents or by observation. In divorces most people understand what they’re fighting over and why (usually custody of the kids or property).…

Mediation FAQs and SAQs

I am finding the need to include more simple explanations of mediation, what is mediation, what divorce lawyers or divorce attorneys do and how court or even settlement conferences are different than mediation. Please see my FAQs and SAQ sections on my website, www.resolveconflictnow.net.

Child Centered Mediation

Child Centered mediation is relatively new to the area and involves bringing the child’s voice into a divorce mediation process. This can be done in a number of ways. The most common and least expensive is to have a child specialist interview the kids and submit a written report to the parties and neutral for…

Beyond Reason Review

Roger Fisher, author of Getting to Yes, died recently. Below is another great book by him and psychologist Daniel Shapiro Beyond Reason: Using Emotions as You Negotiate By Roger Fisher and Daniel Shapiro A Review by Mediator Glen Bickford Many…

Working Preacher article

I just had a theological article published on Working Preacher. This week you can find it on the front page. It’s a piece about my voice surgery and the gift of silence. GB

The Practice of Adaptive Leadership: A Review

The Practice of Adaptive Leadership: Tools and Tactics for Changing Your Organization and World by Ronald Heifetz, Alexander Grashow and Marty Linsky A Review by Glen Bickford This book is amazing. It has a depth that takes one’s breath away. It is a secular book, yet talks about leadership in a way that is easily applicable…

Expectations and Competing Values

One of the most difficult aspects of mediation is managing expectations. It is possible to have a “win” in mediation where you get exactly what you want. It’s possible for the other party to get a “win” as well. However, in the vast majority of conflicts parties must decided to give somewhat on their positions…

Ten Most Common Mistakes Made by New Church Plants

Ten Most Common Mistakes Made by New Church Starts by Jim Griffith and Bill Easum A Review by Glen Bickford Written in a readable style, this book is surely helpful to those who are planting churches. What is interesting is that this book is just as helpful to those who are trying to redevelop their…