Mediation business and marketing

Mediation training comes in a multitude of flavors. To make sure you get really good training and an excellent return on your training investment, here’s a guide to help you choose the right flavor for you. Questions to ask yourself Start with your own clarity. Your answers to the following questions help you steer yourself […]

A life of supreme joy and, occasionally, of profound despair

This is a special post for the audience of my keynote at the Taming the Tiger: The Southeastern Conflict Management Conference in Nashville, TN. It was an honor to talk about the ways that elegant problem solving and conflict engagement can transform our organizations, our relationships, and our lives. The folks at Lipscomb University’s Institute […]

Your biggest mediation competition isn’t who you think it is. It’s not the mediator down the street who’s been in business for a decade and whose name is synonymous with mediation in your region. It isn’t the legal firm one building over. It isn’t the newly minted mediator across town who’s known well from a […]

I am about to split hairs. But it’s for a good cause. I’m going to split hairs because I want to create a quick reference guide to which I can point people who contact me about (1) hiring me as their mediator, (2) hiring a mediator in general, and (3) becoming a mediator. Since public […]

My publisher sent a lovely email to tell me my book, Making Mediation Your Day Job, is a finalist for Book of the Year in ForeWord Review’s annual awards. It was selected from 1,400 entries. My smile at the news grew wider when my sister pointed out that there was a typo (now corrected) that […]

A few years ago, I and my Woodbury College faculty colleagues Susanne Terry and Alice Estey published an article on mediator training and preparation in ACResolution. Last week’s Cafe Mediate podcast got me thinking about that article again – it’s content is still valid and the topic still timely. So, with my colleagues’ agreement, I’m […]

Caveat emptor.

What do you do with over $2,500 in services and products that could help any mediator jump-start their ADR business? Why, throw a party and give them away, of course! It’s all part of the Book Launch Virtual Party I’m throwing to celebrate the release of my book, Making Mediation Your Day Job. Yesterday, I […]

I’m so excited to announce that my new book, Making Mediation Your Day Job: How to Market Your ADR Business Using Mediation Principles You Already Know, has hit the online store shelves! Let’s cut straight to the chase for those of who’ve been waiting for this announcement: Buy the book! Now be sure to read […]

I’m excited to announce that my new book, Making Mediation Your Day Job: How to Market Your ADR Business Using Mediation Principles You Already Know, will be in print soon! For the past month a good chunk of my spare time has gone to reviewing cover copy, the galleys, and communicating with my publisher. There’s […]

In How I Started My Mediation Practice, Part 1, I promised I’d discuss what ADR practice startup decisions I’d repeat and what mistakes I’d try to avoid if I had a do-over. I guess it’s disclosure time! I made some decisions I’d repeat… Choosing a narrow target market: By selecting a narrow target market in […]

I dove off the cliff. I began the process of building my mediation process and being a first-time business owner the day I submitted my resignation to the president of the college at which I served as a vice president and dean. That was almost 11 years ago and I still remember breaking out into […]

If you’re a reader of the Family Mediation Quarterly or a member of the Massachusetts Council on Family Mediation, then I invite you to check out my article in the new edition, “Tap Your Inner Geek: Online Marketing for Mediators.” It’s a concise overview of some of the principles I’ve developed to help mediators transform […]

It was the first day of the new term and of my advanced-level course, Trends and Issues in the Field. I asked my graduate mediation students to work in small groups and answer this challenge:

Imagine that you have decided to create a private ADR practice. On what marketplace trends would you capitalize? Where would you primarily focus to bring in clients?

The small groups took their markers and flipcharts and disappeared for half an hour. As I paused periodically at the doors of the breakout rooms in which they worked, I could see earnest and diligent conversation unfolding, words appearing on paper. This was a smart group of adult students who came back to school after successful careers in other arenas.

The small groups returned and hung their lists on walls around the room. I skimmed through the posters. Surprise made my do so again. And I had one of those moments of disquieting clarity… [Click title to read full post]

It’s a blog! It’s a book! No, it’s a…blook!

I’m writing a book. Yep. Indeed. And I’ll be using this blog to do it. So I hope you’ll come along for the ride.

Starting tomorrow, Make Mediation Your Day Job will unfold right here before your very eyes. I’ll be using this blog to write the entire book. When I’m done, it will transform into a real, live, official, professional book.

Why am I using a blog to write my book? [Click title to read full post]

One of the most treasured times in my professional ADR life were the months spent with my three core faculty colleagues, planning the curriculum for what would become Woodbury’s master’s degree in mediation. We’d all been teaching in the undergraduate mediation certificate program for some time, but since all of the faculty are full-time practitioners […]

An excerpt from a Judicial Branch of the State of New Hampshire press release dated 2 December: “…Chief Justice Broderick today also announced the formation of a new Judicial Branch ‘Committee on Alternative Dispute Resolution Services’ to be chaired by Associate Supreme Court Justice Linda S. Dalianis. The committee will review current ADR services provided […]