Have mediators limited their thinking too narrowly? Can mediation realize its potential for social change and economic viability? Is it possible to transform business disillusionment into making a decent living as a mediator?
These are some of the important questions that Lipscomb University’s Institute for Conflict Management is going to help answer on December 1-3 in the first annual Southeastern Mediators’ Summit.
With an inaugural theme of “In the Shadow and Out of the Box,” the two-and-a-half-day Summit in Nashville, TN will help mediators learn how to apply what you know as a mediator in new ways and in new markets. Workshops and general sessions include “Thriving Community Mediation Models,” “Managing Faith-Based Disputes,” “Mediation’s Future in Health Care,” “Advanced Commercial Mediation,” and “Sustainable Environmental Mediation.”
I think so highly of what the Summit wants to achieve that I’ve agreed to be part of it. I had the chance to sit down at ACR Austin with Larry Bridgesmith, Executive Director of the Institute for Conflict Management, and learn what they hope to accomplish for mediators who want to make a viable living doing this work. I signed on instantly because of the Summit’s timely topic, wise planning, and on-the-mark topics.
I’m delighted to be offering the opening keynote on the evening of December 1 and a two-day mediation marketing workshop on December 2-3. Participants in my workshop, which will be limited in size to maximize the one-on-one time I can spend with each of you, will emerge on December 3 with an achievable, effective mediation marketing plan for the next 90 days. Not just any plan, mind you. One you will delight in following through on. We’ll cover:
- Choosing a viable market
- Learning your market’s most important interests
- Framing your services for your market
- Connecting with your market
- Building dialogue with your market
- Leveraging the web and social media
Bring your laptop if you have one, and if you don’t, worry not, I’ll be ready to work with paper and pen, too!
You don’t need to be a southeastern U.S. mediator to take part, either. They welcome mediators from everywhere and I think you’ll easily get an outstanding return on investment. Would it be worth your while to invest the equivalent of $3 a day for a year to get your ADR practice on track for success? Now that’s a return I’d be hard pressed to find just about anywhere else these days.
To learn more, visit the Southeastern Mediators’ Summit schedule of workshops and general sessions.