Negotiations
How I ‘Failed’ at Negotiation
In four decades I have seen all sorts. Here are two examples. My first serious negotiation took place a very long time ago — almost thirty-five years back. I was twelve. My home town, Borisov, was…
Latest posts
Negotiations
Negotiation: Two Things That Matter
Over twenty-five years I have built up a curious collection. I have hired and fired people, argued in courts and before arbitral tribunals, dealt with the authorities in the difficult circumstances of armed conflict and —…
Negotiations
How to Open a Talk: A Lesson from Aristotle
‘How do I open a talk — or a negotiation, or a conversation with a stranger, or with someone I would like to get to know?’ It is the question I am asked more often than…
Personal Effectiveness
Whose Monkey Is It?
After university I ran into a familiar problem: there was never enough time. It came to a head when I joined top management. My entire day was swallowed by ‘things to do’. They flew at me…
Personal Effectiveness
Dream Out Loud!
If I could change one thing in my past, I know where I would begin. Living the rational life of a senior executive, I not only forgot how to dream — I forgot all my dreams,…
Personal Effectiveness
On Guilt for the Mess Around Us
When Adonis, the beloved of Venus, was killed while hunting, the goddess mourned him bitterly. She felt guilty: she had wanted to talk him out of going, but could not hold him back. Where her tears…
Education
Do You Love Moot Courts the Way I Do?
My professional career began with a moot court, way back in 2000. Since then I have taken part in a great many moots, in every role imaginable: coach, tutor, judge, organiser, author, sponsor. I believe that…
Interesting People
The Broken Chair
What do Princess Diana and the monument in this picture have in common? The Broken Chair stands on the Place des Nations in Geneva, opposite the Palais des Nations, home of the United Nations Office at…
Personal Effectiveness
Seven Lives
Spot on! A good friend of mine recently put it to me like this: “Belarusians live as if they had seven lives: they’ll get through this one and simply move on to the next.” And that,…
Interesting People
Never Give Up!
Do you know the man in this photograph? He is an honoured guest at any conference on international law, and he has thousands of friends all over the world. Allow me to introduce Benjamin Ferencz. Benjamin…
Most posts were first written in Russian. Читать все заметки на русском →