Focused Commercial Mediation – Circles of Dispute (Focusing on the Core of the Business Dispute)

GC Effective Mediation – Focused Commercial Mediation, offers an efficient and effective method to resolve disputes by means of business mediation or business compromise. The method is based on the ability to detect and focus on the core of the commercial dispute. Focus which assists in finding an effective and fair business mediation (or commercial compromise) option.

At the heart of the method is the idea that in every dispute resolution process, including commercial mediation, one must first isolate the core issues of the commercial dispute from the other subjects. After identification of the core issues, the path is open to focusing on the heart of the disagreement.

We can illustrate the method’s underlying idea with the concept of Dispute Circles.

Dispute Circles and the Mediation Process

Each dispute has three different circles.

The Outer Layer – Black

In this sphere, we find the issues and facts which rob the parties of significant resources, despite not being directly relevant to resolving the dispute, or which are not necessary to resolve the commercial dispute. We can name them the “noise generators”.

These, for instance, are topics and facts which at first appearance – or owing to a gut feeling on behalf of the parties – could seem relevant to the parties, or stir strong emotions in them, but which on scrutiny do not stand the test of being necessary to resolving the conflict.

Naturally, many disputes and mediation or compromise proceedings involve these facts. And only at later stages in the process, after the parties have spent significant resources and have suffered material distress, as well as lost significant time, does it become apparent that an entirely different matter can resolve the business dispute. For this reason, the parties move from the Black Circle into the core of the dispute at a later stage, if at all.

In other words, understanding the Dispute Circles teaches us that, in suitable instances, if we can put the noise generators to one side, a path opens leading to a swift and effective resolution of the dispute.

The understanding is that following identification and resolution of the issues at the heart of the conflict, dealing with these other issues, or in the least the large majority of them, becomes superfluous.

The Middle Circle – Grey

In this circle, we find topics and facts which, for the most part, are irrelevant to resolving the dispute. In the commercial mediation process we seek to distinguish the small share of these which are required for resolving the conflict, from that which are not.

The “Pure” Disagreement – White

Here we find the core of the dispute. Underlying this core are the topics, facts and evidence which form the heart of the conflict.

The heart of the conflict is a very narrow field of issues, which we are required to address and resolve in the mediation process, to resolve the entire dispute effectively.

Our mediation process will focus on this area.

Striving to Isolate and Resolve the Core of the Dispute

For this reason, at the heart of the method is the idea that first one must isolate the core issues of the dispute from the other topics. After these core issues are identified, the path is open to focusing on resolving the heart of the conflict.
One can assume that after identification and resolution of the core issues, for the most part, the remaining matters will become irrelevant, or at least easy to resolve.