Anyone who has received a hollow apology knows exactly what I'm talking about. The kind that costs nothing and goes nowhere. Those apologies give the whole concept a bad reputation and leave the hurt person feeling like their only option is to keep fighting. A good apology, though? I have seen it change the entire trajectory of a dispute. Apologies come up in my work, in legal mediations, workplace investigations, and conflict resolution sessions with employees who are sti

Mediating a dispute in Ancient Rome. What do you think? Does it look real or fake? This month, I’m revisiting AI. Not because it’s trendy, but because how people are using and misusing it is changing fast. What felt theoretical six months ago is now showing up in real workplace disputes. Recently, while catching up on non-urgent emails that piled up during the busy weeks of December, I noticed a flurry of discussion among workplace investigators about employees using AI

Best Practices for Shifting Clients Out of the Victim Mindset Not long ago, I was mediating a workplace dispute where one participant, “Mara”, came in certain that she had done nothing wrong. Every issue, every misunderstanding, every bit of workplace tension, in her view, stemmed entirely from the other person’s behavior. She was frustrated, hurt, and deeply entrenched in her story of being wronged. As we talked, it became clear that Mara wasn’t being manipulative or dis

Everything I Know About Gaslighting I Learned From My Teen. (Just Kidding. Sort of.) Like many parents, I’ve had moments when my teenager swears he told me about his plans, or that I never said he needed to pick up his laundry, and for a brief second, I actually start to wonder: Did I imagine that conversation? That small, disorienting feeling - the moment you question your own recollection of reality - is a glimpse into what it can feel like to be gaslit. And while it can

When Asking for Mediation Doesn't Mean Giving In A lawyer once told me, “I don’t want to mention mediation first. I don’t want them thinking I’m desperate to settle or my case is weak.” I understood exactly what he meant, because I used to think the same way. I used to think suggesting mediation was a potential signal of weakness, like I might be showing my cards too early or giving the other side leverage. Now, after years of mediating, I see it completely differently

How One Anonymous Tip Sparked a CEO’s Downfall And Why It Matters to Your Workplace What happened at Nestlé Nestlé recently dismissed...

Are You Overthinking The CAPTCHA? I was mindlessly scrolling social media and saw a recent Adam Grant post that made me chuckle. Are...

When Good Investigations Go Bad (on Paper) I recently had the chance to take a well-taught course through the Association of Workplace Investigators on writing investigation reports that stand up through every stage right through to litigation. It got me thinking about a few common pitfalls that can creep into even the strongest reports. Here are five things I try to keep in mind: 1. Blurring the Line Between Facts and Analysis It’s easy to slip into blending what happe

There's Just Discrimination. On June 5, 2025, the United States Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision holding that discrimination...