I drew this picture sometime in the late 1990s during a skiing holiday in the Austrian Alps.
Like many of my drawings from that period, it started as a humorous Christmas motif. Looking at it today, I see something new: a lesson about focus.
One of the most important things I have learned in more than twenty years of dispute resolution is to keep your eyes on the objective.
As counsel, arbitrator, or mediator.
Not necessarily on the final outcome — because in most conflicts nobody can fully predict where the journey will end — but on the next meaningful step forward.
This is harder than it sounds.
Disputes have a remarkable ability to create distractions. Procedural squabbles. Side issues. Endless correspondence. Arguments about arguments. Before long, one risks getting lost in a bureaucratic tangle that consumes enormous amounts of time, energy, and money without bringing anyone closer to a solution.
The challenge is to remain focused:
🤔 What is the issue that actually needs to be decided?
🤔 What information is really required?
🤔 What step will move the process forward?
Sometimes that requires taking calculated risks.
Just like downhill skiing.
If you spend too much time worrying about every tree, every bump, and every possible fall, you will never make it down the mountain. At some point, you have to trust your preparation, make a decision, and move.
Will every decision be perfect? Certainly not.
But progress rarely comes from standing still.
👉 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡. 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐝𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.
Whenever I feel a matter becoming overly complicated, I return to one simple question:
Does this bring us closer to resolving the conflict?
If the answer is no, it may be time to refocus.
Have a good start to the week!
DrawingFromThePast Focus ConflictResolution Arbitration Mediation CaseManagement
𝘈𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴:
𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳’𝘴 𝟤𝟢𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴𝘐𝘯𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴. 𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘐 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 — 𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘭, 𝘢𝘳𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳 — 𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴. 𝘌𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺. 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦.