You are near the end of day 1 of an estate agent partnership dispute. 3 partners against 1. Is the only solution a split or is there a chance that the mediation can bring about a reconciliation?

Amongst the 3, 2 prefer a “get-back-together”. No 3 – who happens to be female wants blood on the carpet. On the other side, the single partner seems strong but you sense he has not thought through the problems of setting up on his own (becoming an employee again is not an option for him). You think there is some bravado + flakiness.

You sense a reconciliation might work but the main obstacle is the “blood on the carpet” partner. You have to address her problems. What is it? What happened? What was the trigger for her intransigence? You need to understand more about her agenda/grievance and it is up to you as the mediator to work out the best way to address it.

Think of how you would handle it? What would you do? How do you strip away the protective covering and get to the nub of the problem?

On Tuesday 23 March I will have more to say on this mediation but give it some thought in the meantime. Better if this process of ours is interactive.