THE YEAR 2025 IN CONFLICT NEGOTIATION - a highlights package

THE STORY OF MY 2025 

Eight years after deciding to embark on this crazy journey, I love my work more than ever. 

A quick, very summarized 2025 professional highlights package note (bearing in mind my obsession with client confidentiality).

1. On the consulting front, wonderful new and existing global, national and local clients, and I managed to keep the close-knit team ethos intact. High-end elite practical solutions founded on current best practices and science remained the main product. This included mainly corporate and political work. 

2. Speaking engagements, lectures and coaching took up its fair share of the year, with lectures at NWU, medical, supply chain management, fuel industry and other specialized corporate environments being examples. Coaching remained a good mix of individuals and teams. 

3. Political mandates included training, coaching and representation, with very slow progress being noticed in some leadership areas to start benefiting from modern conflict and negotiation strategies. More work needs to be done to start transferring this at scale. 

4. Direct conflict and negotiation work and representation included transnational corporate negotiations, retrenchments, chairing workplace conflict and other inquiries, arbitration, mediation, union negotiation, CCMA and Bargaining Council mandates, probably still my favorite work. 

5. On the writing front, 2025 saw my third book being published, with Skylines: the modern urban conflict manual having started a few important and urgent debates which are being taken further in 2026. The year also saw various articles of mine featuring in Daily Maverick, Daily Friend, Herald newspaper (a weekly column, now in its fifth year), Business Talk and many others. Work has started on my next book on elite negotiation.

6. One of the fascinating areas of my work remains my media work, and our ongoing conversations about South Africans and the various conflicts we face. This year I was interviewed on Carte Blanche (Mkhwanazi matter), and various other TV and radio/podcast interviews,  with topics ranging from the expulsion of ambassador Rasool, the GNU, our violent society,  workplace conflict,  the Trump administration,  the SA-US conflict, secession and many others topics. 

7. The year also saw the finalization of the first hybrid franchise idea, an expansion of the distance learning courses on conflict and negotiation,  and many other inspiring developments. The frustrations were few, and working with the involved clients and staff made the year another wonderful gift. 

Working at the pace I do, I am fortunate to be grounded in a few very important foundations. I am aware, and constantly reminded, how important these blessings are to me and my work. 

I look forward to working with you in 2026, or just having an ongoing conversation about our unresolved, complex conflicts 🙏