The Cost. The direct costs of workplace conflict are staggering: billions of dollars are lost each year for sick days, absenteeism, grievances, and litigation. Moreover, the “hidden” cost of workplace conflict is difficult to calculate, and includes a hostile work environment, the lack of employee buy-in to organizational goals, lost productivity, project avoidance, employee turnover,…
Conflict is ubiquitous – it permeates all aspects of our lives. We all have needs, desires, and aspirations that are not always consistent with those of our colleagues, yet we live in a finite world with finite resources. Moreover, we are each unique, and have perceptions of the world that are filtered through our personal…
In this article I am providing the second installment of my review of William Ury’s book, Getting Past No: Negotiating in Difficult Situations. In my previous article, I put the cart before the horse and talked about the five steps to a successful negotiation — here I am going to talk about the horse that…
We are all familiar with the old cliché: Everyone hates lawyers until they need one. In truth, most attorney-client relationships fall into the love-hate category. Clashing egos, arrogant attitudes, fee misunderstandings, communication problems, unpredictable results – the list of pitfalls that can hinder or destroy the relationship is seemingly endless. I don’t have the secret…
[ This is Part III in a three-part series on how to hire a lawyer. In Parts I and II, I discussed the importance of interviewing your potential lawyer to make sure that he or she is right for you, particularly in terms of experience and costs. In today’s edition of the Opening Statement, we…