Laudusk

The ADR Institute of Ontario held its second annual "ADR in the Capital" conference in Ottawa on March 28, 2019. With Daniel Markus, I co-led one of the workshops; ours on #forgiveness as a new addition to dispute resolution, particularly #mediation. We received great feedback from participants that our workshop addressed a topic on a tool and new framework for understanding that #mediators and conflict coaches need. Forty+ participants came from Ottawa, Toronto and Thunder ...Bay, and helped make the event and our interactive workshop a success. Special thanks to the keynote speakers Steven Gaon and Howard Martin and the two other workshop leaders Rebecca Bromwich and Paul Fauteux for their engaging and stimulating discussions and presentations.

My article on mediation and forgiveness appeared in the Winter 2019 edition of ADR Ontario's newsletter. http://adr-ontario.ca//uploads/2019/03/ADR-UPDATE_WINTER20

One of the "The Many Faces of Carleton’s Graduate Diploma in Conflict Resolution"

Read "On the Front Lines", a recently-published article written by Lori Morton, Q.Med and I for condo boards and managers on how to deal with difficult situations. It appeared in the latest issue of Condo Contact, Canadian Condominium Institute - Eastern Ontario's quarterly magazine.

My favorite product review site, Wirecutter, just came out with its review and recommendations for best video conferencing. Their top pick? Not Zoom. Surprised? https://www.linkedin.com//jcolsthoorn_best-video-conferenc

Some times some things are just what they are and there's not a heck of a lot you can do about it. It happens in condos and it happens if you own your own home. Sh!t happens.

The current pandemic has forced us to rethink how we do our work. Laudusk - CMS continues to offer workplace investigation and mediation services through it's online dispute resolution capabilities.

Rubin Thomlinson LLP's latest workplace #investigation blog on how not to handle #workplace #harassment with four key lessons, based on a BC case. Check it out.

Yes, it’s worth it. Expand your mind, your horizons, and use your curiosity to learn!

Uncomfort Zone Ah, the Internet of Things (IoT). Something I knew little about and now know a little more after attending the "Secure IoT Registry - the Thrust for Cyber Trust" Ottawa Meetup event last week at Bayview Yards. Do you speak parking meter? or robot vacuum? or light switch? No, neither do I. What Jacques Latour and his team at CIRA, the Canadian Internet Registration Authority is doing is enabling connectivity for IoT devices in a way that is both secure and easy.... Jacques presentation touched on bootstraps, credentials, crypto keys, embedded SIM cards, certificates, registries, 5G, applets, enough to make my head explode. That’s what stepping out of your comfort zone is all about. You get to learn something new, something important and relevant, and you start to make connections between stuff you didn’t before. And you get to meet people whom you wouldn’t have met otherwise. How cool is that!

Fellow AWI Association of Workplace Investigators member Margaret Michaels quoted in Globe & Mail article on proactive efforts of a small local business in my neighborhood to deal with workplace harassment. Wonder how many SMEs in Ontario have in place policies and procedures to deal with harassment...

Is CBS/Survivor shortchanging contestants? When Survivor first aired in 2000, contestants were vying for a coveted $1,000,000 prize. Big bucks. Season 39 just ended and the winner, Tommy, won $1,000,000.... Wait a minute! What about cost of living, wage increases, inflation, interest rates, buying power - all those things that affect the value of money over time? Is $1M won in 2000 the same as $1M won in 2019? Nope. According to the CPI Inflation Calculator, Tommy should be receiving $1,500,000. He’s short one half million dollars. (Actually, he’s short $493,658.54.) There’s no prize for coming in second or third. No silver or bronze. Winner take all. And the biggest winner is CBS/Survivor raking it in, as popular as ever. So what’s happening in Season 40, commencing in February 2020? Well, the contestants are now vying for $2,000,000 except they are all previous players, a bunch of them have already won $1M, with one having won twice. And what does all this mean? Not much. Except for the value of a dollar. Rather the perceived value of a million dollars. That hasn't changed on Survivor for almost 20 years. "I'm in it for the million bucks." What has changed is how the game will be played in the future in light of what happened this season. More on that later.

Is the key message "Just talk to people as if you are being recorded"? Perhaps.