The Alarcon Group, LLC

03/01/2020

12/23/2019

Get ready to ring in 2020 in San Francisco. We're on the hunt for epic parties and incredible shows that will have you and your friends talking about this New Year's Eve for years to come. We'll be updating this collection until December 31st, so hit "follow" to know as soon as new events are added.

02/19/2019

Tony Bennett in San Jose on 5/3

07/25/2017

Series: Creating Value in Business Negotiations

In a negotiation, it’s common to slip into a “win at all costs” mentality. Discover how to re-focus on value creation and consensus building in today’s

When disputes crop up in our business lives, our carefully honed negotiation skills sometimes go out the window. We become so focused on trying to “win” that we forget that the same value-creating opportunities we seek in negotiation may be well within reach.

In particular, we may be able to bridge our differences by—somewhat paradoxically—focusing on our differing preferences across issues. Alter your perspective to get what you want.

To take one example, parties often bring different visions of the time frames relevant to their dispute to the table. Imagine, for instance, that a design firm has completed web design and hosting work for a small, growing business. The design firm added a significant charge for “scope change” to its bill, noting several requests its client made during the process of constructing the website. The client disputes that the changes to the scope were great enough to warrant the extra charges and has refused to pay them. The parties could haggle over price and perhaps reach a compromise.

But a more promising strategy might be to explore time-frame differences. Suppose the client is facing cash-flow difficulties. If so, it might propose structuring payments over time instead of disputing the total bill. Similarly, if the design firm is concerned about retaining long-term clients, it might consider counting part of the monthly payment as an ongoing retainer fee. In this manner, the client would secure ongoing design support, and the design firm would convert a one-time customer into a more stable revenue stream.

Summary: To resolve a dispute, consider making tradeoffs based on differences in the time frame that each party has in mind.

Robert C. Bordone

Next: Change Currencies for Settlemnt

12/12/2016

Annual Fee Reduction at the Alarcon Group!

Fees reduced for December!

- Marriage Dissolution

- Workplace Conflict

- Small, medium or large Business to Business Conflict

- Unresolved Business to Business Contract Issues, Monies Owed

- Tenant/Landlord: Evictions, Uninhabitable Living Conditions, Needed Repairs, Back Rent

- Real Estate: Purchase Sale Agreements

It gets slow this time of year. Folks want to put the resolution of conflict off until next year.

Conflict does not age like a fine wine. It just doesn't.

We can get your conflicts resolved much, much sooner and now less costly as there will likely be more open time.

In any case, less costly than endless litigation and court dates.

If you, or some one you know may need help with the issues above, please call or have them call for a no-cost pre-mediation consultation.

$200/hr Mediation *
$100/hr Mediation Consultation *
$100/hr Mediaton Administration *

I'll look forward to hearing from you!

Carlos J. Alarcon
707-319-2113
[email protected]

*Does apply to contacts or inquiries previously made concerning mediation

12/11/2016

Negotiation Insight: Lowering the Temperature

A negotiation counterpart loses his cool. What do you do?

Learn how to respond in today’s article from Dan Shapiro, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School/McLean Hospital and co-author with Roger Fisher of the book Beyond Reason: Using Emotions as You Negotiate.

When your counterpart expresses strong negative emotions during a negotiation, how should you respond?
We may be tempted to try to avoid a confrontation by rewarding the other side with concessions, but that sets a dangerous precedent.

Instead, try these techniques:
Appreciate their concerns. When someone is upset, they likely want you to recognize their feelings and see the merits of their concerns. Doing so can go a long way toward promoting understanding and reducing the intensity of strong emotions.
Take time to describe what you’re witnessing and communicate that you understand. For example, “I get the sense you’re frustrated that it’s taking us a while to reach agreement. I can see why that might be, as I know you’ve put a lot of time into these talks.”

Take a short break.

Because time away from a conflict allows tense emotions to ease, you might suggest that you (and perhaps the other party) need a 15-minute break to think about how you might work together more cooperatively.

Or you might decide to regroup another day and debrief what happened when you next meet. Test your assumptions.
Rather than assuming you know why your counterpart is feeling angry or upset, push your notes aside and ask him or her directly, “Is there something I did to upset you?”
There is a good chance you will gain new information that will help you bridge the differences between you.

Summary:
By conveying understanding, taking a breather, and testing your assumptions, you can deal with emotions effectively and begin to move forward.