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The National Football League (NFL), and the NFL Players’ Association (NFLPA) have just concluded 7 consecutive days of negotiation and dialogue. This is a vast upgrade from the “I’ll only talk if it is about what we want” stance that seemed to pervade the previous several months of non-talks. As I indicated in my prior blog, the entrance of a federal mediator into the mix has been invaluable. George Cohen, the mediator, indicated that though some progress was made, very strong differences remain. Mr. Cohen – and rightfully so – has imposed a “Cone of Silence” on all parties to these intense and high level negotiations.

So, you might ask: “What exactly has been going on for 7 days, such that such major disagreements still remain?” One can only speculate, so let’s  do just that!

First of all, this last week has been the first time that any truly authentic and organized talks have taken place without posturing in the press and “not even close to the playing field” demands. It takes time for a mediator to guide the culture of conversation away from unrealistic high/low expectations and  proposals, to true dialogue where the NFL and the players can articulate and address their concerns, priorities, and interests. It is a a true paradigm shift.

A key and often difficult part of negotiations is identifying areas where there might be a fairly clear “zone of agreement”, and areas where both sides are way far apart. In  explaining this dynamic to mediation trainees, law  students or clients, I ask them to envision  a pyramid: the tippy-top of the pyramid – the point – is where lie the toughies – issues wherein there will be very difficult conversations. At its broad base are the lesser contentious issues, where agreement might be reached. An option in negotiation is to start at the top: “If we can get those issues resolved, the rest will fall like dominoes”. Or, one might start with the simpler issues at the base of the pyramid: “We are likely to fairly quickly resolve some of these collateral issues. Perhaps that will grease the agreement motor and thus make it easier to talk about the hard stuff.”

I suspect that the “progress” noted by Mr. Cohen may be interpreted as the parties having been able to identify their issues, pinpoint  where these issues fall on the pyramid, with accompanying successful discussion and perhaps even agreement around the “base topics”. Mixed into this, remember, is the hard work Mr. Cohen has been doing in his attempt to bring these high powered, sophisticated, high-ego parties from the parking lot to at least a place resembling the playing field of productive discussion.

Now, talks are scheduled to resume next Tuesday, March 1. Everyone needs a break right now. The representatives for the NFL and the players need to report to the owners and the players. Due to the highly contentious “tip of the pyramid” issues that remain unresolved, it is entirely possible – even likely – that there will be a lock out come midnight, March 3. Once owners start losing money and the players see the possibility of losing game checks – the real bargaining will begin.

So take a deep breath! The party has just begun.

It’s not often that you see or hear the terms “collaboration” or “cooperation” in conjunction with the high-stakes, often ego-driven world of professional sports. But, by gosh and by golly, those are precisely the words we are hearing here in Seattle in connection with the much-beleaguered Seattle Seahawks. Not long after former USC Mega-Coach Pete Carroll was introduced, to great fan fare, as the ‘Hawks new head coach, it was announced that John Schneider – now formerly with the Green Bay Packers – has become the team’s new General Manager.

The big news is: According to Seattle Seahawks CEO Tod Leiweke, Mr. Schneider will work in conjunction with Coach Carroll in a new Seahawks’ structure that will have the GM and head coach working in a collaborative partnership on personnel decisions.

Now that, my friends, is a new twist on things.

Typically, professional sports organizations establish their administrative/managerial structure in a vertical “top/down” manner. A Head Honcho is hired who makes on and off the field personnel decisions, from who the head coach is, to which players to draft, trade for, or sign in free agency. The head coach, in turn, decides who will be his/her assistants, and trains and manages the team.

Apparently, the intention with the Seahawks is that Pete Carroll and John Schneider will work together in a mutually cooperative fashion to build and structure the football team through trades, the draft, and free agency. They, in turn will work closely with Mr. Leiweke on these personnel decisions. Coach Carroll, of course, will be the field manager of the team.

How refreshing is this!

John Clayton, the well known national and local Senior Football Analyst, has referred to this set up as a “three-headed” monster. This is certainly an understandable reaction to a very unorthodox way of doing business in professional football, where people are paid millions of dollars to make key decisions, and typically have strong personalities and egos to match their stature.

It is, of course, way too early to judge any of this. At the end of the day wins, as in “Going to the Superbowl”, will most certainly define the long term success of this “experiment”.

The Seattle Seahawks are to be commended for striving to create maximum efficiency and reward through cooperative problem solving. Let’s give this experiment some breathing room and see what happens!