Archive : Thoughts and Insights by Michael Gregory

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Trust

A ring of 11 different colored human replicas in a circle with all of their feet pointing to the center hub
December 17th, 2018

Collaboration is key to a great agreement

This is common sense, but not everyone has the same amount of common sense.  At the end of this article the Program on Negotiation at the Harvard Law School provides additional commentary on this topic.  What is a great agreement?  Is that one when you win as much as you can?  It can be argued that instead, a great agreement is when both parties mutually create a much better agreement than either would have crafted by themselves.  Think about having a larger pie may be the better outcome for you and the other party than simply having a larger piece or even the entire smaller pie. This concept has been proven time and time again to be the best approach to a truly great agreement.
Male on a lookout in nature exploring the vast treed wilderness
December 10th, 2018

This is how to negotiate and motivate millennials

This article focuses on some basic elements that have proven successful and are forcing businesses to change how they hire, train and retain top talent. Millennials are driven to succeed when they are treated with respect, with an employer that is focused on its workers, with management is transparent and most importantly when there is a collaborative environment. It’s not that complex, but it takes effort to make these things happen. It doesn’t just happen.
Clear pool of water with fish swimming near the surface
November 5th, 2018

When should you not be transparent when developing trust?

Trust is critical in a negotiation, mediation or collaboration. Trust can be defined as being straightforward, open, accepting and responsible, but when are times when you should not be open? That is the focus of this commentary.
The word Trust scratched into a sandy beach
September 4th, 2018

This is how you build trust at the bargaining table in business

Here are some very specific ideas to help you in any negotiation. You begin your investigation into the parties and process as a first step. Your goal is to build a good and as solid a relationship as possible. 
A man walking away on a narrow boardwalk with tall sea grass on either side.
July 9th, 2018

This is when you should walk away from a negotiation

When is it time to walk away from a negotiation? In short, when a trusted third-party advisor counsels you that is time to let it go. When mediation is not an option. When you are focused on sunk costs to recover rather than pertinent information now. When your focus is on fairness rather than objective criteria. There are many reasons why negotiations fail and why collaboration may not work. After all collaboration is hard. If the other party does not want to collaborate that pretty well ends the reason for trying to go forward.
Two blue images of people icons with a larger one to the left and a partially embedded smaller one on the right.
June 25th, 2018

This is How to Shift Your Thinking for Better Collaboration

In general, when someone comes with a question the typical response is to respond with an answer or what we believe to be a solution. This sets up a supply process for answers, but is this what is really needed? If we want collaboration, because that increases team work, reduces resources, reduces toil, reduces stress and increases productivity and therefore profit, there are three things to consider.
Three adult women having coffee while having a pleasant conversation in a coffee shop booth
May 21st, 2018

Small talk – Does it always pay big dividends at the IRS?

A great negotiation often has four parts related to building relationships, listening for underst
lower blue hand and upper red hand with some key words imprinted on the hands giving each other "five" for cooperating so well with each other
April 30th, 2018

This is How Collaboration Can Help Grow Your Business

Over the last four weeks I have focused on why collaboration is important in the workplace, why collaboration is hard, why collaboration doesn’t always work, why collaboration is better than competition, and now I am tying things together with how collaboration can help grow your business.
Woman looking at eleven circles tied together by lines with faces inside the circles.
April 23rd, 2018

For the first time – why collaboration over competition?

Wait a minute. Isn’t competition good in the work place? Isn’t competition what makes America gre
Two geese with one acting in an aggressive posture
April 9th, 2018

Why Is Collaboration So Hard?

From the time we started school we were taught to work hard, study hard, do our best and we will get ahead. Then when the best technician becomes a manager all of that has to be turned on its head. Why?

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