How to Mediate Like a Pro and How to Negotiate Like a Pro are textbooks at DePaul University, NSU, Malta U, UCF, UNT, UAA, and Brown

How to Mediate Like a Pro and How to Negotiate Like a Pro are being used as textbooks  in several College and University courses and workshops on Mediation, Negotiations and Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR), including the University of Alaska at Anchorage, DePaul University, Nova Southeastern University, University of Malta, University of North Texas at Dallas, University of Central Florida and Brown University.

Mary Greenwood, Mediator, Attorney and Author of How To Negotiate LIke A Pro: 41 Rules for Resolving Disputes, Second Edition, Winner of ten book awards,  How To Mediate Like A Pro: 42 Rules for Mediating Disputes Winner of 12 book awards and How to Interview Like a Pro, second edition, winner of twelve book awards. www.marygreenwood.org

Amazon Author Central or Why don't my books sell in Springfield, Missouri, Evansville, Indiana or Davenport, Illinois?

The Amazon Author Website is a wonder to me. Every week on Friday morning, I log in to see how many books I have sold over the last week in the US. What I find most fascinating is the geography tab. The map graphic shows all the markets where my books have sold. There are 100 markets including what they call the "combined markets",  which must be the most unpopulated areas of the country and it is lumped together into one category for book sales.

Top ten markets for all my books: ( How to Mediate Like a Pro, How to Interview Like a Pro, and How to Negotiate Like a Pro)

1. Combined Areas
2. Orlando/Daytona/Melbourne
3. New York
4. Los Angeles
5. San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose
6. Washington, DC
7. Chicago
8. Atlanta
9. Dallas/Fort Worth
10. Boston,
11. Philadelphia

The combined areas is not too surprising since it covers such a large geographical area on the map. My number 2 is also not too surprising since I live in Orlando and I know that the University of Central Florida does frequent workshops with my book, How to Mediate Like a Pro.  I would have expected other Florida cities such as Miami since my books are geared somewhat to Florida law.

I thought it would be interesting to compare my top ten sales markets with Central Connecticut State University's ten most literate cities that was just released this week. Only three of the top literary cities matched my sales. I am not sure what it means, but it is still fascinating, Maybe Seattle and Minneapolis are not into "how to" books.
1. Seattle
2. Minneapolis
3. Pittsburgh
4. Denver
5. St. Paul
6. Boston *
7. Atlanta *
8. St. Louis
9. Portland, Oregon
10. San Francisco *

There are 3 markets out of the 100 where my books are not selling according to Author Central:
1. Springfield, Missouri
2. Evansville, Indiana
3. Davenport, Illinois

I have heard the expression, "Will it sell in Peoria?" Apparently my books do sell in Peoria but not in some of the other mid-west locations. I have no anecdotal information to know why my books aren't selling in the midwest. I am probably more surprised that they are selling in all the other 97 locations.

There is a lot of interesting information to be gleaned from the Author Central pages. I can't wait until next Friday to see if can crack one of the cities in the Midwest.

Mary Greenwood, Mediator, Attorney and Author of How To Negotiate LIke A Pro: 41 Rules for Resolving Disputes, Second Edition, Winner of 10 book awards Best How To Book, How To Mediate Like A Pro: 42 Rules for Mediating Disputes, Winner of 12 book awards, How to Interview Like a Pro, second edition, winner of 12 book awards. www.marygreenwood.org

How to Negotiate the Fiscal Cliff Like a Pro

How to Negotiate the Fiscal Cliff? What Did We Learn?

The Good, Bad, and the Ugly

It has been over a month since we did not go over the fiscal cliff. I have been mulling over what we learned from that near disaster. Here are my conclusions.

1. Relationships Matter

One reason that Vice-President and Senator McConnell were able to come together behind closed doors and knock out some agreements is that they knew each other as senators from way back and had a certain level of trust from that relationship. That is why it is usually easier to negotiate with people you know rather than people you don't know.

2. Bring in the Big Guns to Finish the Job
(See number one above.)

3. The Broken Record Approach Does Not Work
Saying the same thing (no more tax increases or no changes to Medicaid) over and over does not work. This is the take-it-or-leave-it approach which in union negotiations is an unfair labor practice, bargaining in bad faith. In order to succeed, there has to be some give and take and some compromise positions offered.

4. Think Big, but if you Can't Think Big, Think Small.
First the fiscal cliff was going to be fixed forever. Then it was going to be fixed for the fiscal year. Then it was going to be fixed for sixty days. Small is better than nothing at all and perhaps something can be built on the first compromise and agreement.

5. Kicking the Can Down the Road Usually Doesn't Work and Can Make Things Worse (especially if sequestration is involved).
We know why Congress didn't make a decision in the fall. They were waiting to see who was elected President. However, that inaction created the fiscal cliff and made things worse.

6. Plan B Doesn't Always Work
The Speaker of the House found this out the hard way. He kept on saying he had a Plan B in case Congress did not pass the first plan. However, he couldn't get the Republicans to agree to his Plan B. This goes with "Don't count your chickens until they are hatched."

7. Scheduling Negotiations at the 11th Hour Works
Most negotiators know if you schedule a session at 4:00 on a Friday, it probably won't go past 5:30 because everyone wants to eat and start their weekend and no one wants to come back on Monday morning to complete it. The Congress first had to complete their negotiations by Thanksgiving, then Christmas, then New Year's and then by January 3, the date the new Congress was sworn in. This really put pressure on Congress because who wants to be in Washington during the holidays? However, if a session is scheduled, a Congressman looks bad if he or she went home while everyone is working.

Mary Greenwood, Negotiator, Attorney and Author of How To Negotiate LIke A Pro: 41 Rules for Resolving Disputes, Second Edition, Winner of ten book awards, How to Interview Like a Pro, Second Edition, Winner of twelve book awards, How to Mediate Like A Pro: 42 Rules for Mediating Disputes Winner of twelve book awards Visit my website: www.marygreenwood.org
Email: mgreen464@aol.com