(1) Our first book was Managing Conflict – Strategies to Create and Teach Resolution of Conflict. (2016). Lawyers & Judges Publishing Company, Inc. If we want to get ahead, we must learn how to get along. Differences of opinion and preference, as well as disagreements generally, are a normal part of life. There is a spectrum of the process of agreement to disagreement to conflict. Lawyers, politicians, business people, and people in general could be more successful in communicating if they applied the principles of conflict resolution. We must learn how to better prevent, manage, and resolve conflict.
“This insightful book shows the best methods and strategies ever discovered to resolve conflicts and achieve lasting agreements.” Brian Tracy, author of Negotiation, and Chair and CEO of Brian Tracy International.
” In Managing Conflict Jim Flanagan gives us a very practical process for developing the crucial skills of solving problems and persuading others. I agree with Jim that these skills are so life-critical that they should be taught to everyone at every age.” Vic Conant, President of Nightingale-Conant Corporation.
This book was also endorsed by: William Ury, co-founder of the Harvard Negotiation Project, and co-author of the classic book Getting to Yes; by Gregory J. Zubacz, Ph.D, Associate Provost and former Director of the Center for Peacemaking and Conflict Studies, Fresno Pacific University; by Jim Yovino, Fresno County, CA, Superintendent of Schools; by Dr. Saul Jimenez-Sandoval, Provost, California State University, Fresno; and by Al Smith, retired prominent radio station manager and former CEO of the Fresno, CA, Chamber of Commerce.
(2) Our second book was Resolving Conflict by Mediation – a Primer, (2019) Scholars’ Press, co-authored with Gregory J. Zubacz, Associate Provost and former Director of the Center for Peacemaking and Conflict Studies, Fresno Pacific University. Professor Zubacz is also a lawyer and a Ukrainian Orthodox Priest.
Since there are few quick-reference resources for resolving conflict by mediation, conflict managers may be very experienced in the subject matter of the dispute, but lack training in the process of mediation. Therefore, this book is a primer of the mediation process for new or untrained mediators. Mediation is a highly successful process for resolving disputes voluntarily; if done properly, it has an 80% success rate.
The first half of the book discusses the wide range of conflicts that are frequently the subject of mediation. The range of issues include common conflicts that happen in life, such as family, work, church, and business. The causes of such conflicts are examined , the study of which is necessary to successfully mediating such situations.
The second half gives a detailed and organized process of the common phases and steps of a typical mediation.
The book concludes with an outline of some helpful resources, including books, websites, and legislation which provide some guidance for certain mediation situations.
The book was given the following endorsement by Dr. Saul Jimenez-Sandoval, Provost of California State University, Fresno: “Through clear reasoning and step-by-step illustrative writing, the book provides a forthcoming lesson in conflict resolution and mediation. Through the teachings of this book, conflict is a spark that has the potential of forging stronger human relationships on a personal and professional level.”
(3) Additional books being worked on are:
Conversations Without Conflict (the Pull/Push process as set forth in the initial blogs above on this website);
Dinosaur Lawyer (a commentary on the disappearance of the general practice lawyer and the resulting conflict of lack of access to, and affordability of, legal services, especially in rural areas.
Irish Boy (a commentary of my life as one of two grandsons whose grandparents were all naturalized citizens of the United States and raised in the Republic of Ireland which had its own history of conflict).
(4) KUDOs
I would like to give kudos to a book that I recently read that has to do with writing. It is Platform – Get Noticed in a Noisy World by Michael Hyatt (2012). If anyone is interested in setting up an author’s platform on the web, as I have, they would find this book most helpful. Hyatt’s style is amazingly simple and easy to read.
Avoiding Conflict 