Mutual Benefit

I believe that if everyone negotiated with the other party’s interests and resulting outcome in mind as much as their own, the entire world would be a much better place. If you haven’t seen the show Fairly Legal, or even know it’s subject, it’s about a lady who works for her family’s law firm. Her sister and brother are both lawyers, but she is a mediator. Basically she deals with settlement cases and tries to keep it out of the courtroom. She helps everyone get what is wanted, to an efficient and mutual ends. Sometimes it is hard to negotiate without a mediator to keep the peace and make sure the things stay fair, but that is why I believe mutual benefit is the best way to negotiate.

As for the interview, I interviewed the chief video editor that works for the local news channel, WYFF 4. Mr. Harmon deals with the news teams and his personal video team within his department at the office. He used to be behind the lens actually filming on the streets, but has since worked his way up to a nice office in downtown Greenville. While he was a cameraman, he saw many of the incidents of the evening news first hand, but now he deals with the clips afterwards. So now he gives the final say about how things should be done. In a way, this can be viewed as a dictatorship with no negotiations allowed, but he likes to think otherwise. He could tell everyone what to do and how to do and expect it be done that way, but he approached his job in another light. He prefers to work with the members of his department like a team and let everyone have input while discussing every aspect and option. This is a perfect representation of mutual benefit. He benefits in that his team is more willing to work with him and they do not resent his leadership. They benefit in that they can express their creative abilities and work as a team.

How great is it to hear about an office working like this, in harmony and peace?