![\"Gap](\"http:\/\/bizexteam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Gap-1a-1-1.png\")
<\/a>Santa Fe, New Mexico is a renowned art center and its high desert setting is a favorite among artist. Our local district court had asked me to conduct a mediation to resolve a pending lawsuit between a local gallery owner and a local artist.\u00a0 The case involved a situation where the dispute had escalated from a disagreement about a consignment fee, into claims of defamation, breach of contract and a battle in the local news as well as in the court. The parties only agreed to attend because the court insisted.<\/p>\nIt was nearly eight in evening. I\u2019d been working as the mediator in this very emotionally charged session since one o\u2019clock.\u00a0 The early winter sun had long since set. The mediation had gone through a series of classic stages.\u00a0 Knowing that the situation was emotionally charged, I had gone to great lengths to begin the mediation with a discussion of ground rules. After much venting collectively and in their separate caucuses with me as the mediator, the parties begin to discuss what it might take for each side to dismiss its claims.<\/p>\n
Now, at this relatively late hour and in desperation I suggested that we take a break and return for one last plenary discussion. As the mediator, I felt that I needed to rack my brain to see what other questions I could ask and options I could suggest for the parties Finally, and much to my surprise, the two principals returned to the room together, arm-in-arm with smiles on their faces and discussing scheduling a lunch.\u00a0 I was flabbergasted and confused.\u00a0 What was going on? What did I miss?\u00a0 It turned out that during the break, both gentlemen had stopped to use the restroom, and during that particular moment, the artist had said to the gallery owner something like \u201cLook, I have a sculpture that I could give you to sell in your gallery.\u00a0 It cost me less that my maximum point of concession to have cast, but you can sell it for far more that your last settlement demand.\u201d\u00a0 The gallery owner, who was familiar with the artist\u2019s work, knew this to be true. And with that simple offer, not only was the case settled, but the relationship between the artist and the gallery was completely restored. Those who study the negotiation process and train negotiators and mediators have, through time, devised their own construct to explore and discuss negotiation issues. Through this process, specific categories of mediation situations have been developed, mostly for the purpose of designing negotiation\/mediation training to prepare mediators and negotiators to work with similar situations.\u00a0 Through this process a wide variety of training scenarios have developed, based on common situations that a negotiator or mediator is likely to encounter. One well-defined category is that of working with parties \u2013 either directly as a negotiator or indirectly as the mediator \u2013 to bridge gaps between the minimum amount one party is willing to accept and the maximum amount the other party is willing to pay.<\/p>\n In my March 13th<\/sup> blog posting called \u201cTrees: A Mediation Lesson-Learned,\u201d <\/i>I spoke of one such scenario, that of working beyond a potential impasse situation by encouraging the participants in the mediation to look to different forms of \u201ccurrency\u201d beyond dollars, in order to resolve their case.\u00a0 In classic negotiation theory, that article discussed a scenario that exemplified shifting the negotiation focus from a distributive negotiation<\/i><\/b> \u2013 that is, one where only one thing (typically money) is the focus of the negotiation, to an integrative negotiation<\/i><\/b> where other items in addition to or aside from money are the focus of resolving the issue. In Trees<\/i> I described a real-life scenario where shifting the focus in a mediation session from dollars<\/i> to end a dispute to replacing that focus with trees<\/i> (that might die), resulted in a successful outcome.<\/p>\n<\/a>The mediation began to make slight progress, but after hours of emotional discussion, both sides were exhausted.\u00a0 However, the parties felt like so much had been invested in the process that they should keep working toward a settlement. Ultimately, it became clear that the parties were stuck and that an impasse was very likely.\u00a0 As the mediator, I felt that I had asked the right questions, carried the offers and counter-offers and faithfully conveyed each party\u2019s rationale for their offer and position. Finally however, after seven hours of negotiation, it looked like we would fall short of settlement.<\/p>\n<\/a>to explore.\u00a0 It seemed that there had to be some link that I had missed.\u00a0 The gap was sizable, but did not seem insurmountable. Exhausted myself, I essentially came up dry. I returned to the mediation room and sat waiting for the parties to return. Minutes passed and neither side returned to the room. As the minutes passed, I began to wonder if the parties had simply abandoned the process and disappeared!<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n