>I love this quote by my colleague Laird Schaub, on conflict: “In the end it doesn’t matter to me who started it. I want to know who’s willing to end it.”

To me, it really speaks to the difference between mediation and arbitration. A mediator helps the parties hear and understand each other’s point of view; promotes empathy between the parties; and encourages the collaborative creation of a solution that meets everyone’s needs. An arbiter looks for culpability and assigns restitution based upon each party’s contribution to creating the problem.

It can take awhile for people to let go of wanting, more than anything, to be RIGHT.