This week’s round-up of conflict resolution links include the following:

The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel has advice when it comes to ADR agreements in “ADR Trends for 2008“, which includes the recommendation that “Counsel must also give consideration to the extent to which it is important to maintain an ongoing business relationship with the other parties to the transaction. In such cases it is particularly helpful to include a stepped ADR clause, such as one that requires negotiation and then mediation before resorting to arbitration.”

Speaking of ADR agreements, Workplace Prof Blog points to a recent article by Professor Jean Sternlight, “In Defense of Mandatory Binding Arbitration (If Imposed on the Company)“.

Chicago Family Law Blog describes the ingredients necessary for a “Successful Divorce Mediation“, while CNN.com gives readers “Six Tips to manage workplace conflict“.

For those who ask, “Why can’t we all just get along?”, FriendlyAtheist.com offers “An Atheist and a Christian: A Love Story“, which explains how love can triumph over differences:

But how does a relationship like this last? If you ask Kate and Erik, they’ll laugh and tell you they have no idea. (That’s not a joke; they’re serious.) But it turns out they both share core values and a passion to find the truth, whatever it may be.

They also have strong communication and conflict-resolution skills. They both strive to understand each other instead of trying to change the other. If an interfaith relationship with two passionate people is going to work, they say, you can’t be under the delusion that you will change your partner. Not when it comes to faith.

(Emphasis added.) One can only speculate whether what works for Kate and Erik will also work for Democrats and Republicans.

While we’re on the subject of politics, In These Times looks at misguided foreign policy in “No Talking to the Enemy: Both the U.S. and Iranian governments have stopped dialogues between citizens seeking peaceful resolution“.

Spotted at the Princeton Review web site (the company that American high school and college students have to thank for standardized tests) was this (badly researched) career profile for a mediator, containing this nugget of wisdom: “Although ADR sounds like a terrible syndrome, it’s in fact a more Zenlike approach to conflict resolution, with mediators as the master practitioners.”

Finally, to see how mediators are celebrating the New Year, check out the following posts:

Chris Annunziata takes “A Fresh Approach to New Year’s Resolutions”

Victoria Pynchon bids a colorful welcome to 2008.

Stephanie West Allen greets 2008 with hope and a smile.

Tammy Lenski invites readers to try on the 8 hats of a mediation entrepreneur.

Dina Beach Lynch offers a blogging plan for mediators for 2008.

Routine is safe.

My dog knows this from personal experience.

On days when routine is followed, food arrives at regular intervals, you enjoy long naps, and humans take you for walks and rub your belly. On days that depart from the routine, you end up at the groomer’s or, worse, at the vet’s getting neutered.

Even among humans, change has gotten a bad rap, and understandably so. When it comes, we’re often not ready for it. We may be powerless to stop it. We have no control over it. Or no one consults us in advance, even if we may be directly affected by it. We have no say in it.

It’s easy to forget that change can be fun. Or exciting.

It can inspire us. It can give us a new sense of purpose. It can help us find new meaning in our work or our lives.

When was the last time you diverted from your own routine? Tried something new? Saw a problem from someone else’s side? Reconsidered a long-held opinion? Tried to do something in a different way? Changed your mind about something?

What new stuff will you try this year?