Forget agreement, and certainly uniform agreement. How do you deal with people you really don’t like, or even those who are simply from very different cultures? How are those two challenges related, and how can we get things done, even when there is plenty about which we don’t agree? From our homes to the streets of our cities, to our nation’s capitol, these questions seem more pressing now than at any time in most of our lifetimes. Together we will see that there there really are things we can do about each of them.

For the last two decades I worked with one of the greatest people in the second half of the twentieth century: George Shultz. Early in our relationship the Secretary encouraged me to become a mediator. He suggested:

“I strongly recommend you consider becoming a mediator. You can have an impact on people’s lives well beyond the issue in front of you, you learn so much about others, and even more about yourself! When we were working with the Soviet Union, I could never tell whether the progress we were making was due to my efforts, the President’s, or the tide of history. However, when I received a call from Tel Aviv from a Soviet dissident to tell me, ‘I’m home because of you!’ I knew I had made a difference.”

Secretary Shultz passed away earlier this year. He was 100 years old. However, there is not a day that goes by that I do not utilize the gifts he gave me. On June 24th I will do my best to pass them on to you.

Ava Abramowitz suggests we can make more progress in understanding how disputes settle if we look to other fields, such as sales, that have faced similar challenges in determining what makes a person effective in their field. In particular, she will explore the discoveries of researchers at Huthwaite Incorporated in America and Huthwaite International in England on negotiation, communication, and sales – and show how that research can be applied effectively in the negotiation and mediation setting.

10 Tips for Better Negotiation. Receiving an Employment Offer? Concerned about Severance? In this presentation, we will highlight ten successful negotiating tactics to help you be better prepared to advance your career with confidence.