I am employed by a large government agency and I was recently given the opportunity to participate in what I like to call participation kabuki. Participation kabuki is when an organization desires to make a show of soliciting input from throughout the organization. Typically a committee is formed to organize the
I have in the past year and a half had to talk with numerous people who are averse to taking the COVID vaccine. During almost every meeting I have been a part of there have been one or more people going on harangues about the COVID vaccine. The typical official
I never went to war while I was in the army. I was stationed in Korea during the first Gulf war. I cannot say with absolute certainty how the active duty and veterans who served in Afghanistan feel; I believe that I do have an idea about those feelings. The
Strategy is useful to conflict, but not in the way most people think about it. Strategy commonly seems to be thought of as a mapping out of actions that will lead to a particular goal. This can be true, but in the context of conflict you are dealing with other people. People
I recently had a discussion about strategy with a strategy consultant. I love strategy; I love talking about it, reading about it, and thinking about it. I don’t have many opportunities to discuss strategy directly with others. I therefore found the conversation very enjoyable. I mean something very specific when
Violence is a Choice I was recently reminded of the idea that the commitment of any violent act is a choice. My years studying conflict resolution have led me to thinking that violence is a failure of the conflict resolution process. However, people can always choose to resort to violence,
Today I participated in a Zoom forum, Insurrection: The Critical Reflection Forums presented by the Department of Communication and Theatre Arts of Old Dominion University. I observed the second part of the series, which focused on nonviolent communication and conflict resolution. The forum was hosted by Avi Santo, Ph.D. and the presenters
When asked what I do I often respond that I help people articulate and protect their interests. Most of the time the response I get is a puzzled look. I suppose it might be easier to say that I help people deal with conflict. However, that is not always true.
