If this is a blog about negotiations then why am I writing about other things?
I get that question often.
It is.
I’ve been posting for this blog for some time now. I’ve tried to relay what I’ve done for the past 25 years – in a word – Negotiate. I’ve negotiated employment contracts for different employers. Some big. Some small.
But sometimes I may ramble. I may write about my experiences in life and what led me to negotiate for a living.
Or I may write about Teddy Roosevelt.
(10 Things you may not know about Teddy Roosevelt (and me)
http://wp.me/p3VT6N-6x
When I wasn’t negotiating, (you can’t do it all the time!) I would hear and attempt to resolve, employee grievances. I taught supervisors how to manage their employees and employee contracts, too.
But everyday life is also negotiated. We do it all the time. Decisions made to do one thing and not another, attempts to get ahead or what we want – it’s all negotiating.
Or as the name of this blog suggests- Reaching Resolutions.
When I started one of my jobs, I had to sit through a 2 day seminar on Labor contracts.
No slight to the instructor intended but it was one of the most boring topics I had to sit through.
The word “Labor” must have applied to the effort to keep my eyes open!
So what did I do? I skipped out. I took an extra long lunch and came back about an hour into the afternoon session. I showed up late the next day too.
Just started my employment and I wasn’t even showing up for the training for my job!
Oh and, although I didn’t know it at the time, the instructor was also my supervisor!
Have you ever known Karma? I do.
Karma does work and after a year or so, I was given the job of teaching the very same seminar! How could I stay awake and speak? Reading contract language is pretty mind numbing. Try it if you don’t believe me.
How did I survive? Well, I entertained myself. Sounds a little self indulgent, I know. But I had to do something! I looked for the stories in negotiations. The personalities even.
And that’s how I was able to train supervisors. By telling the stories. Stories of negotiating. Stories of grievances.
So when I’m posting about reaching a resolution, or negotiating – a labor contract or everyday life, I’m writing what happened to me and how I would handle it. I tell stories. Stories how things happened.
Hopefully you like these “stories” and they help you reach your resolutions. If not, at least I hope you find them entertaining.
JT
And now how about this for Karma, Metal Heads? Click the link below and see what karma (and death metal) does to Boy George and the Culture Club!!