Mediator: Ok, thank you both for being here today. Please tell me what brought us here.
Bart: My contention is that ORSC is a better coaching methodology and one our client should pursue certification in.
Barry: And I disagree fully. Whatever benefits ORSC has, CTI is the much better pathway for our client.
Bart: You only say that because you’re impractical. You’re living in an imaginary world in which ripe coaching clients swing from tree branches aching under their –
Barry: Our client has a passion for coaching, as he defines it, which is helping the largest number of people improve their lives –
Bart: Oh, what, and now systems, large groups of people, suddenly are fewer than individuals?
Barry: People, Bart, I said people – not businesses.
Mediator: Ok, look, guys, I can tell you’re rehearsing arguments you’ve already had, and how well has that worked out for y’all?
Bart: (Staring forward)
Barry: (Looking away from Bart)
Mediator: Going forward, I ask you both to address me, and not each other. That’s our alliance agreement.
Barry: ORSC Fundamentals has some awesome tools, particularly myth creation. However –
Bart: You loved that!
Mediator: Bart, refrain from addressing Barry directly, and refrain from the second-person.
Barry: However! The first half of day 2 was spent on conflict. We both know our client has little appetite for more conflict.
Bart: That’s news to me. I specifically saw him google mediation the night before he signed-up for ORSC Fundamentals and CTI Foundations.
Barry: First of all, that was four months ago. Second of all, that was before CTI Foundations.
Bart: I’m most concerned our client is going to regret a financially irresponsible decision.
Barry: So am I!
Bart: Well then don’t encourage him to go down this individual –
Mediator: Hold on, guys, hold on. I’m hearing you both say the greatest concern here is money, yes?
Bart: (Nods)
Barry: (Nods)
Mediator: (Rising, removing a dollar bill from his wallet, walking behind and between Bart and Barry) This may seem a bit hokey, guys, but I want you to try it. Each of you take this dollar in the hand nearest to the other. There. Hold it between you. Good. Now we know this is the problem. Go ahead and together move it away from you. Excellent. Now place it on the floor between you. Very good. OK, from now on, when we have disagreements, I want us to address them to the dollar bill on the floor.
Bart: Very well.
Barry: I can do that.
Mediator: Money is no longer the obstacle. Your client inherited the money he’ll be using for this coaching pathway, right? Now, with money out from between you, does this change anything?
Bart: It does, actually. Absolutely.
Mediator: What does it change?
Bart: I’m thinking he’ll get plenty of practice with conflict resolution as an Agile coach at a large bank, anyway, and he’ll be able to hone ORSC tools, too, in the field.
Barry: I feel much better about this.
Bart: Me too.
Mediator: In what way?
Barry: He loved the people in CTI. He loved the discoveries he made. He loved his classmates’ magnetism. And the locations, too, they’re more his style. He wants to see Atlanta, Seattle, visit family in Boston.
Bart: Well, that’s going to cost –
Mediator: (Glancing at the dollar bill on the floor)
Bart: Point taken.
Barry: Thanks for being so open-minded about this, Bart.
Mediator: You both want what’s best for your client. That couldn’t be more obvious.
Bart: I’ll go for CTI, so long as our client promises to read the ORSC manual and incorporate its tools.
Barry: I agree completely.
Mediator: Thank you both.
Bart: Thanks, guys.
Barry: Thanks to both of you.