Doing Well by Doing Good: A Boston Mediator Responds

This morning I came across an interesting post in the SCMA blog. Vicki Pynchon made available an article written by Christine Von Wrangel who talks about some of the dirty laundry of our profession. Namely, that there are more mediators trained than those working for pay. Please take a moment to read the article.

I've posted a comment at the SCMA blog that's awaiting approval but I thought I'd share some thoughts here, too.

I agree with Christine that many learning institutions and training organizations could do a better job preparing students to be business people as well as skillful mediators. It's not unheard of.

Schools are changing. When I was in law school I created a business plan for a practice as part of my third year coursework. Mediators-in-training could do something similar. Why not expand the standard 40 hour training to include information on marketing and business planning?

For those who believe that the opportunities for mediators are meager, again I disagree. My experience has been just the opposite. True, it was challenging. However, I've made a comfortable living over the past 15 years. And, guess what? I don't think I'm unique or special. Others can do it, too.

ADRPracticebuilder.com was built on that idea. My membership rests on the notion that with support, marketing tools and guidance other mediators can do well and do good. As always I welcome your thoughts and comments.

Try. Fail. Learn. Grow!

Dina