Remember the Joke: April Showers Bring May Flowers?

If April Showers bring May flowers, what do Mayflowers bring? (Pilgrims is one answer, but the better one is…) FURNITURE! Mayflower and United Van Lines are part of UniGroup, the nation’s largest household goods relocation organization. And, I just spoke at the 2026 UniGroup Learning Conference in St. Louis, held

Read More »

In Negotiating, Are You as Reliable as a Groundhog?

February 2 is Groundhog’s day. The legend is that winter will either linger for six more weeks or be shortened based on the visual observations of … (wait for it) a groundhog. Spoiler alert, it was a sunny day and Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow. If you rely on Phil

Read More »

Show Up and Go Do It

Just heard my friend and sportscaster Newy Scruggs, MBA at NSA North Texas. Newy spoke about having the information and tools available and doing nothing with them. How many times have you bought the book, downloaded the recording, or even attended the class and done nothing with the information? Having

Read More »

Different Styles of Leaders & Negotiators

Not all leaders or negotiators approach the table the same way. Each style brings unique strengths—and knowing your style can help you thrive in business, leadership, and life. 🔸 Engage (E)Engagers are outgoing and relationship-driven. They connect naturally with others, inspire through encouragement, and create energy in every conversation. Their

Read More »

Yay! It’s my Birthday!

2025 offered some significant milestones. I taught two semesters as a Practicing Professor at Naveen Jindal School of Management, UT Dallas, was inducted into the The HRSouthwest Conference Speaker Hall of Fame, and started a project with my students called Negotiate for More for Others. My students use their negotiation

Read More »

Asking for More in November to Serve Others

UTD Management Students Select Organizations to Serve in Their Negotiation Journey Update, the service organizations have been identified! As a reminder this month students in my five negotiation classes will be reaching out to the UTD community and surrounding areas. University of Texas at Tyler Professor and media genius –

Read More »

Dealing with Energy Draining Environments

Last week, I was interviewed on How to Stop Complainers and Energy Drainers by Dr. Gary Johnson, BCC. Here’s the link: https://lnkd.in/gRvXZwPp This week, my students and I talked about negotiating negative work drama. We discussed that often stress is introduced by environments. For instance, dealing with red tape, lack

Read More »

Accommodate and Negotiate

The word “accommodate” refers to many ideas in negotiations. For instance, the party accommodated (or granted) several of the other side’s requests. Or, the deal required several accommodations (changes) before it was agreeable to all involved. Yesterday, the state of my accommodations (my office) required me to accommodate (adjust to

Read More »

One of the Best Days of my Life!

At yesterday’s Opening Session, I was officially inducted to the The HRSouthwest Conference’s Speaker Hall of Fame. This recognition is a tremendous honor. I’ve spoken at HR Southwest for more than two decades. Later that morning, I presented a session called “Leadership is a Series of Negotiations” to a fabulous

Read More »

Engage by Investing in Yourself

Results are in regarding where you plan to invest in yourself through the rest of the year. Comments stressed the importance of investing in yourself, and these places were highlighted as to where to invest: Technology, especially AIResearch in IndustryBusiness PlanCertificationMasterclassSpa Day (one of my favs) Are interested in the

Read More »