Friday, June 15, 2012
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
The Difference Between Peacemaking and Nonviolence
San Francisco, Ca (PRWEB) June 10, 2012
Douglas Noll award winning peacemaker and award winning author of Elusive Peace: How Modern Diplomatic Strategies Could Better Resolve World Conflicts, kicks off a campaign to teach the distinctions between peacemaking and nonviolence. “I am not starting this grassroots campaign to be a stickler for how we use words, the bigger picture is to educate the public so that an opening for changes around conflict can be created, with strategies of negotiating peace becoming strategic policy in homes, communities, schools, businesses and government,” Noll announces.
“There is a very large gap between what people believe peacemaking to be and what it actually is. It is important to start educating communities, families, and governments about what peacemaking is and what it is not. A peacemaker fundamentally intervenes in and de-escalates conflicts, and provides strategies above and beyond nonviolence,” Noll explains.
Popular public sentiments revolve around memorializing historic figures like Gandhi, Mandela and Martin Luther King as peacemakers. “With conflict on the rise worldwide, it is essential that education begins with basic definitions. Change makers are not necessarily peacemakers. The great figures of our past that were lauded as peacemakers were really nonviolent change agents. When people in power understand this, professional mediators will be brought to the table during times of change so that order can be restored and differing sides can create peaceful solutions that are win-win,” Noll teaches. “We can historically see that when mediators are not brought into unstable areas, loss of life, disease, famine, humanitarian crime and long term suffering prevails,” Noll adds.
Noll is a professional mediator with an impressive list of business and family clients. “What I find is that people exhaust every other avenue to resolve conflicts before choosing mediation, which causes financial hardships and fractured relationships. If I can, through my campaign educate the general public about peacemaking strategies before they find themselves in conflict that there are ways to work through problems during the process of negotiating resolution to differences, I can save people money, restore conflicted relationships, and prevent hardship,” Noll explains. For a free fifteen minute consultation visit: http://my.vcita.com/757e13f4/set_meeting?o=c2lkZWJhcl93aWRnZXQ%3D&s=http%3A%2F%2Fnollassociates.com%2F
About Douglas Noll
Douglas Noll is the winner of the International Peace and Justice Book Award for Elusive Peace: How Modern Diplomatic Strategies Could Better Resolve World Conflicts (http://www.amazon.com/Elusive-Peace-Diplomatic-Strategies-Conflicts/dp/1616144173/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1339101596&sr=1-1). Doug is the 2012 winner of the CLAY award for co-founding the pro bono project Prison of Peace. Doug is a keynote speaker and sought after leader in the field of international, domestic and business conflicts. Doug is a sought after interview guest on TV and radio, and a keynote speaker and workshop presenter. Doug is a full time peacemaker and mediator, specializing in difficult, complex, and intractable conflicts, an adjunct professor of law and has a Master’s Degree in Peacemaking and Conflict Studies. Mr. Noll is AV-rated and was a business and commercial trial lawyer for 22 years before turning to peacemaking. Doug is a founding board member of Mediators Beyond Borders, and the 2012 President of the California Dispute Resolution Council.
Noll is a Fellow of the International Academy of Mediators, a Distinguished Fellow of the American College of Civil Trial Mediators, a Diplomat of the California and National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals, a core faculty member of the American Institute of Mediation, and on the American Arbitration Association panel of mediators and arbitrators. Mr. Noll was one of the first U.S. mediators certified under the international mediator standards established by the International Mediation Institute. Doug is the author of Elusive Peace: How Modern Diplomatic Strategies Could Better Resolve World Conflicts (Prometheus, 2011), the winner of the international peace and justice book award. Doug Noll is a core faculty member of the American Institute of Mediation, a preeminent mediation Training Institute founded by Lee Jay Berman. http://americaninstituteofmediation.com
Join Facebook at http://www.facebook/DouglasNoll.com. For interview and further information contact Inspired Media dianeden@centurytel.net
Monday, June 4, 2012
Stop the Family Fight: How to Reconcile
Joe, Martha, George and Anna had been fighting over their parents’ home and five acres for ten years. They had endured four lawsuits amongst each other, some resulting in judgments that had been enforced. Four years ago, the home burned to the ground with no insurance to rebuild, leaving a vacant lot to fight over. Each side had gone through two or more lawyers. The family had been torn apart through bitterness, anger, and strong feelings of injustice.
I was called in by the current lawyers to see if I could help matters. Other than confirmation of my engagement, I received no letters or mediation briefs outlining the problem to me. This was a case where I literally walked in cold.
The lawyers seemed anxious to get this matter resolved and out of their respective offices. They, fortunately, were cooperating with each other in trying to find solutions to this intractable family conflict.
After introductions, I began the process. First, I explained that each person had four options for deciding how to deal with the conflict. I used a flip chart to draw out the four options: coercion, outside authority, peacemaking, and negotiation. I observed that coercion had not worked, outside authority had led to four unsatisfactory lawsuits, and that the high level of conflict escalation and mistrust made one-on-one negotiation unlikely to be productive. I then said that everyone in the room had chosen today to try third option: peacemaking.
“You have the power to decide if this matter will resolve and how it will resolve,” I said. “I am the least powerful person in this room. My job is to manage the process, provide a safe environment for difficult conversations, and support your work in any way necessary.” I asked if this option was the choice of each person in the room. Everyone agreed that it was. This was probably the first thing the family had unanimously agreed upon in years.
I described the peacemaking process, and how I wanted them to share their stories and perspectives. I explained the difference between positions and interests. To their surprise, I was not interested in their positions and wanted to focus on identifying their interests. I explained the problem solving process they would utilize and answered questions and concerns. Again, they each agreed that the process seemed to make sense.
Before letting them begin their work, I established ground rules. “One person speaks at a time without interruption. You each agree to summarize back what you have heard. You agree to speak the truth from your heart and your mind. You will be respectful of each other, the process and me through your words, tone of voice and body language. Finally, the process has to be fair at all times.” I asked if each agreed to these ground rules and as we went around the table, every person affirmed his or her commitment.
For the next two hours, we listened to stories. Summarizing back was difficult, as it usually is in bitter and intractable disputes. With support and practice, each of the brothers and sisters became more comfortable with summarizing. More importantly, they learned to listen to each other carefully and empathically.
After the stories were told and heard, we turned to interests. I elaborated on the differences between positions and interests then asked everyone to take some private time and identify what interests needed to be satisfied for the conflict to be resolved.
When we re-convened, the interests went up on the chart one at a time. Everyone was amazed to find out that they shared almost all of the same interests. I smiled to myself because discovery of common ground happens in every peacemaking assignment and is one of the powerful parts of the process. When all of the interests had been identified, I asked two questions.
“Are any of these interests mutually exclusive? That is, will satisfying one interest mean that under all circumstances some other interest cannot be satisfied?” Everyone reflected on the question and looked at the interests. They agreed that the interests could all be satisfied.
“If we can find a way to satisfy all of these interests, do we have a basis for ending the conflict and finding peace?” Everyone hesitated as they realized I was asking for a commitment to peace. A few questions were raised and answered. Silence followed for at least two minutes. Finally, one at a time they agreed that if the interests could be satisfied, the conflict could be resolved.
We spent the remainder of the afternoon developing options that would satisfy the interests. I framed the conflict as a joint problem to be solved rather than a competition to be won or lost. The brothers and sisters engaged in a friendly and spirited conversation about how all of the interests could be fulfilled. Within an hour, an agreement was reached.
This story illustrates how the peacemaking process can bring parties separated by intractable, bitter conflict together to restore trust, foster cooperation, collaborative problem solving, and most poignantly, permit reconciliation. I had the good fortune to work with attorneys who let their clients do the hard work and who saw their role as counselors, not advocates.
And what was the solution? Everyone agreed that the property should be donated to the family church, that all claims and judgments should be exonerated and released, and that they should get back to the business of being a family again.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Peacemaker Douglas Noll Identifies Cultural Shift Towards Peace
Douglas Noll, award winning peacemaker, President of the California Dispute Resolution Council, award winning author of Elusive Peace: How Modern Diplomatic Strategies Could Better Resolve World Conflicts(Prometheus, 2011) and this year’s winner of the CLAY award, discovers a cultural attitude shift towards the war in Afghanistan identified in his book Elusive Peace. “Most people accepted the war effort as long as Osama bin Laden was alive. The desire for vengeance and the accompanying hormone high has ended,” Noll states, adding that “a dopamine high accompanies a desire for vengeance.”
Noll writes in his award winning book Elusive Peace about brain function as it relates to conflict and peace. Science shows that the brain expresses pleasure hormones (Dopamine) when the need or desire for revenge occurs as featured in an article in Scientific American: (http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=revenge-evolution). “Once the motivation for revenge wanes the dopamine wears off and people lose motivation and interest in vengeance. The motivator, in this case, Osama bin Laden, is gone,” Noll explains.
“The recent protest in Chicago at the NATO summit was widely received and reported in media. This is new. Before, protests against the war in Iraq were met with resistance and a general attitude of dismay at outspoken anti-war protesters, much like the public criticism Cindy Sheehan received. Today, however anti-war sentiments are more widely accepted and approved. By the reports, people are tired of war and the media is reflecting that in stories,” Noll says predicting that “these anti-war sentiments coupled with a cultural anxiety about a protracted military spending campaign will be reflected at the voting booths in the upcoming election.”
Douglas Noll is the winner of the International Peace and Justice Book Award for Elusive Peace: How Modern Diplomatic Strategies Could Better Resolve World Conflicts. Doug is the 2012 winner of the CLAY award for co-founding the pro bono project Prison of Peace. Doug is a keynote speaker and sought after leader in the field of international, domestic and business conflicts. Doug is a sought after interview guest on TV and radio, and a keynote speaker and workshop presenter.
Doug is a full time peacemaker and mediator, specializing in difficult, complex, and intractable conflicts, an adjunct professor of law and has a Master’s Degree in Peacemaking and Conflict Studies. Mr. Noll is AV-rated and was a business and commercial trial lawyer for 22 years before turning to peacemaking. Doug is a founding board member of Mediators Beyond Borders, and the 2012 President of the California Dispute Resolution Council.
Noll is a Fellow of the International Academy of Mediators, a Distinguished Fellow of the American College of Civil Trial Mediators, a Diplomat of the California and National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals, a core faculty member of the American Institute of Mediation, and on the American Arbitration Association panel of mediators and arbitrators. Mr. Noll was one of the first U.S. mediators certified under the international mediator standards established by the International Mediation Institute. Doug is the author of Elusive Peace: How Modern Diplomatic Strategies Could Better Resolve World Conflicts (Prometheus, 2011), the winner of the international peace and justice book award. Doug Noll is a core faculty member of the American Institute of Mediation, a preeminent mediation Training Institute founded by Lee Jay Berman.
http://americaninstituteofmediation.com
Join Facebook at http://www.facebook/DouglasNoll. Visit http://www.elusivepeace.com. For interview and further information contact Inspired Media dianeden(at)centurytel(dot)net
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Poor Conflict Resolution Skills Leads to Irreconcilable Differences
Douglas Noll, author of the award winning book Elusive Peace draws the correlation between the high number of couples who regret their divorces and a lack of peacemaking skills. The most common reason cited for divorce is irreconcilable differences-which Noll describes as a failure to understand conflict resolution skills. "Couples get to the point where they have differences they cannot reconcile. The lack of skill to solve problems is a major contributor in unresolved conflicts," Noll says.
Comedian and actor Russell Brand recently admitted that he regrets filing for divorce from his ex-wife pop artist Katie Perry, and wishes that he had tried harder to save his marriage. (www.masslive.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2012/05/report_russell_brand_regrets_d.html)
Brand's sentiments all too often mirror a good majority of divorced couples. Noll points to statistic that show: "40% of divorced people regretted their divorce and thought it was preventable." (Australian and New Jersey studies. (William J. Doherty, PhD, Family Social Science Dept., University of Minnesota, Bdoherty(at)che2(dot)che(dot)umm(dot)edu).
"Couples in high conflict relationships who divorce are most often at a point in their relationship where they cannot negotiate successful resolutions to conflict. Locked in win/lose belief systems, relationships often suffer irreparable damage," Noll points out.
Flooded with emotion, high conflict couples reach that pinnacle of distress where separating seems the safest option," Noll explains. "Most people are unskilled in resolving conflict successfully. To negotiate peace in a high conflict situation where both parties are satisfied with the outcome is an area the average person is not schooled in. Unfortunately most couples learn how to argue and solve problems from their parents, and generational patterns show up in today's relationships," Noll explains, adding that "this failure to solve problems amicably and with skill regrettably sets up a poor example to children. Bullying and fighting becomes the norm."
"As a peacemaker and professional mediator the dispute resolution skills we teach not only benefit diplomats, corporations and communities. Couples who learn to embrace peacemaking skills learn emotional intimacy and pass this valuable tool to their children," Noll explains. Noll believes that peacemaking starts at home so that collaboration is the norm for solving problems and kids at home learn critical relationship building tools. "If we teach children at a young age healthy boundaries, good listening skills, and empathetic responses in communication, we will be raising a generation of adults who will make better decisions in issues involving our global community," Noll says.
"However, when any relationship reaches a critical point, a skilled mediator is key for getting both parties to work together again," Noll points out.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2012/05/15/prweb9501430.DTL#ixzz1v2nP8iHpWednesday, May 9, 2012
Untitled
Award winning Peacemaker Douglas Noll discovers brain function and peacemaking connection
While studying conflict resolution Douglas Noll discovered the scientific and neuropsychological reason negotiators fail at peace talks. "When I took modern scientific studies and transposed them onto past failed peace talks, the answers became clear. We have been using 18th century strategies in a 21st century world to resolve conflict. This led to writing Elusive Peace in the hope that diplomats, politicians and voters would use this information to become better informed and using the keys in my book shift from failure to success by employing professional mediation skills instead of outdated strategies that cause financial devastation and cost innocent lives," Noll explains.
The time has come to use what we know in resolving conflicts internationally, nationally, and personally
San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) April 30, 2012
Douglas Noll, award winning author of Elusive Peace: How Modern Diplomatic Strategies Could Better Resolve World Conflict (Prometheus, 2011) and award winning peacemaker, discovered the connection between brain function and peacemaking while studying conflict resolution strategies. This information contributed to the motivation to write his book and teach others his groundbreaking theories.
“Because we are 98 percent emotional and two percent rational, when people are in conflict, heightened emotions play a bigger role than rationality. Until people understand this, and begin to develop better skills and strategies to overcome natural tendencies to react, peace will remain elusive,” Noll explains, adding that “the problem of ongoing conflict exists in the international arena as well as between couples in relationships. Until there is understanding about brain function, people will continue to be stuck in a vicious cycle of ongoing and repeated conflict.”
While researching peacemaking Noll compared the failed peace negotiations of the past several
years and realized that the failure to create peace was due to outdated models of negotiating peace and not factoring in scientific studies that explain how the mind works in the context of conflict.
“I found that traditional military and diplomatic methods for resolving global conflicts cannot work. In Elusive Peace I show why with explanations ranging from neuropsychology to philosophy and political analysis,” Noll explains.
Noll’s body of work explains how diplomats enter negotiations with flawed assumptions about human behavior, sovereignty, and power, and shows that negotiators still use a model of European diplomacy dating back to the 18th century to solve the complex problems of the 21st century. Through numerous examples, the author shows that the key failure in current diplomatic efforts is the entrenched belief that nations, through their representatives, will act rationally to further their individual political, economic, and strategic interests. However, the contemporary scientific understanding of how people act and see their world does not support this assumption. On the contrary, research from decision-making theory, behavioral economics, social neuropsychology, and current best practices in mediation indicate that emotional and irrational factors often have as much, if not more, to do with the success or failure of a mediated solution.
“We must use professional and skilled mediators at negotiation tables around the world in areas of conflict to benefit from what we now know scientifically, and what we want to happen in peacemaking during a time when conflict worldwide is at an all time high and the threat of weaponry use is increasing,” Noll warns. For interview contact dianeden(at)centurytel(dot)net.
About Douglas Noll
Douglas Noll is the winner of the International Peace and Justice Book Award for Elusive Peace: How Modern Diplomatic Strategies Could Better Resolve World Conflicts. Doug is the 2012 winner of the CLAY award for co-founding the pro bono project Prison of Peace. Doug is a keynote speaker and sought after leader in the field of international, domestic and business conflicts.
http://www.facebook/DouglasNoll.com
Doug is a founding board member of Mediators Beyond Borders, and the 2012 President of the California Dispute Resolution Council.
Noll is a Fellow of the International Academy of Mediators, a Distinguished Fellow of the American College of Civil Trial Mediators, a Diplomat of the California and National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals, a core faculty member of the American Institute of Mediation, and on the American Arbitration Association panel of mediators and arbitrators. Mr. Noll was one of the first U.S. mediators certified under the international mediator standards established by the International Mediation Institute. Doug is the author of Elusive Peace: How Modern Diplomatic Strategies Could Better Resolve World Conflicts (Prometheus, 2011), winner of the international peace and justice book award. Doug Noll is a core faculty member of the American Institute of Mediation, a preeminent mediation Training Institute founded by Lee Jay Berman. http://americaninstituteofmediation.com