Our leaders need empathy to solve the Brexit puzzle

Jun, 2019

John Sturrock's article in The Times on Monday 10 June 2019.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Process and Empathy are Critical for Success in Political (and other) Negotiations

“In negotiations of all kinds, the greater your capacity for empathy – the more carefully you try to understand all of the other side’s motivations, interests and constraints – the more options you tend to have for potentially resolving the dispute or deadlock.” These are wise words from negotiation guru, Deepak Malhotra of Harvard Business School. He goes on to conclude that “a lack of empathy usually guarantees failure.”

...Malhotra’s words may provide at least a partial diagnosis of what has gone wrong with the UK’s Brexit negotiations.

Identity is a part of humanity that may threaten our future

Jun, 2019

"This is the place on earth where there is the most significant formation of glaciers. But even here, they are receding. Climate change, temperatures increasing at twice the rate of the rest of the world, the data gathering can’t keep up. I ask you all to think about what you can do to change things.”

1000 Days of Mediation

"Back in 2001, the delivery of more than 1,000 days of mediation would have seemed like a pipe dream, even if we had thought about it. Back then, the target for our small start-up business was simply to introduce mediation to commercial and civil disputes in Scotland." 

Moving to mediation makes for earlier resolution

Apr, 2019

John Sturrock reflects on his time as an advocate at the Scottish Bar and asks: could at least some of these cases have been mediated, had mediation been available?

Originally published in The Scotsman on 15 April 2019.

Core News March 2019

Early Bird Registration for Core's Residential Summer School is now open, other special events for the diary and recent news and articles.

Knowing how to negotiate is an essential life skill

Feb, 2019

“The ability to negotiate well, to find ways to cooperate which recognise and promote the broad public interest, is essential to our future. We will not survive without being able to see beyond narrow and partisan positions. Our future depends on being competent negotiators. There is no more important set of skills to teach the next generation.”

Never Give Up: Persevering in Mediation

Feb, 2019

“If you had not held us back that evening, the deal would not have been done.”

 “Thank you and I wish you well.”

In this post, I return to a familiar theme for mediators and for lawyers acting for clients in mediation: perseverance.

How well do you perform in making Scotland a better place to live?

Dec, 2018

"One of the privileges of my role is that I am invited to do things which give me an insight into aspects of life of which I might not otherwise be aware. Recently, I have been working with the Scottish Leaders Forum Strategic Leadership Group as it seeks to help the public sector and other ­leaders meet the challenges of Brexit and ­other events."

Festive Core News

Dec, 2018

Training opportunities, forthcoming events, mediation articles and blogs and other pieces for your interest.                                                                                                                                                                                                     

A View from Frankfurt

Nov, 2018

"My last blog reflected on an excellent mediation conference in Frankfurt on the Oder where the strength which comes from working together was clear. I started this present blog on the day that the EU agreed the terms of the UK’s departure from the organisation that has..."

Demonstration of an Early Joint Meeting

Nov, 2018

This is an example of one way a mediator might encourage parties in mediation to engage with each other at an early stage. Filmed in Athens, September 2018.

Insider: Report: Dispute Resolution

Nov, 2018

This article in the November edition of Insider, in which John Sturrock was interviewed, discusses the impact of Brexit on dispute resolution in Scotland. 

Mediation and Cups of Tea

Nov, 2018

What effect can negotiating over a cuppa have during a mediation?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Mediator Engagement in Politics – and other things we care about

Oct, 2018

"At a recent excellent conference hosted by Professor Ulla Glaesser at Viadrina University in Frankfurt (Oder), one of the workshop sessions focussed on the extent to which mediators can or should disclose or express their views when engaged in politically-related mediation work – or more generally."

A Universal Declaration of Interdependance is needed

Oct, 2018

"Not long ago, I read a review of Yuval Noah Harari’s new book, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century. The message contained in it was so stark that I found myself temporarily paralysed with fear about the future."

Brexit will put up barriers the EU was made to pull down

Oct, 2018

"I don't understand how you British could give up so easily. We've been trying for years to get into the EU. People lost their lives. You call it a prison. You have no understanding of what it is like for us. We know about prisons. Your Brexit vote was demoralising and played into the hands of anti-Europeans in my country."

72+ Hours in a Life

Oct, 2018

"In a period of a little over 72 hours, everything I have learned in the past twenty years and all the roles I have aspired to play converged in a remarkable series of events..."

Autumn Core News

Oct, 2018

Training opportunities, forthcoming events, mediation articles and blogs and other pieces for your interest.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Letting Go

Sep, 2018

"'The last great act of a courageous leader is to let go', I suggested to the CEO as he pondered whether this was in fact a good time to step down.... He was holding on for his own reasons, unsure what the future would hold for him, uncertain about what he would do and where he could turn. He needed a prompt, permission, to accept responsibility.."