About
Our Heritage
CMI Concord's founding partners have decades of experience working with the late Professors Roger Fisher (law) and Howard Raiffa (business) as colleagues at the Harvard Negotiation Project and partners or collaborators of their predecessor firms Conflict Management, Inc. and Conflict Management Group. Each CMI Concord partner and senior professional acquired their experience by advising, preparing, and coaching organizational leaders and their negotiators, teaching negotiation, creating multimedia instructional materials, and mediating disputes using the principled, interest-based process pioneered at the Harvard Negotiation Project.
Our Philosophy
We are rooted in the concept of interest-based negotiation, a philosophy which holds that both sides to a negotiation can achieve superior results by adopting a more collaborative approach. We develop and deploy with our clients frameworks and tools that allow them to take leadership positions in their negotiations, often guiding their counterparts to a more constructive mindset.
We are also pragmatic and embrace the reality that there are times when a more unilateral, distributive approach to a negotiation is more appropriate.
And we work with our clients to be able to distinguish between the two approaches and choose the appropriate one for each circumstance.
Why Work with CMI Concord?
There are many negotiation consultants to choose from, so why choose to work with us?
- You will work only with senior-level professionals. We are a boutique firm and only take on clients if we can serve them meaningfully.
- You will benefit from our real-world experience. We not only helped develop the theoretical underpinnings of the negotiation frameworks and tools we use, but we also have decades of experience in negotiating and managing in the healthcare, pharmaceutical, finance, manufacturing, private equity investing and professional services sectors. We test and refine our craft in the real world, and we bring world-wide good practices to our clients.
Testimonial
“Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas has benefited enormously from CMI Concord’s involvement with the company. Your partner’s counsel on numerous issues and initiatives has been invaluable. Two initiatives are noteworthy: First, as a lead member of the negotiating team for a $600M acquisition, CMI Concord provided insights and developed strategies that contributed to an exceptional outcome. The ability to analyze complex situations and develop creative solutions is remarkable. Second, during a time of dramatic change within the organization, CMI Concord created a model to facilitate functional decision-making. The model crystallized roles and accountabilities and is a critical tool for the organization. In fact, 5 years later, the tool is still in use today.
“The superior intellect of CMI Concord's professionals, their in-depth understanding of the human dynamics of every situation, their creative problem-solving skills, and their strong commitment to those they work with make them a valued resource to any organization fortunate enough to engage their services.”
– Pat Hemingway Hall, as President, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas; Health Care Service Corporation (Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas)