Welcome to the Tero October eZine

The political climate today is rife with varying opinions and positions. The tendency for each of us to cling to, value, and assert our opinion is a classic example of how disparate positions can create opposition. The interests of safety, peace, and maintaining a healthy world climate are most likely shared by those whose positions sit on completely opposite sides of the fence. Yet few people are skilled at going beyond positions to look for the common ground found in underlying shared interests in order to work toward mutually beneficial solutions.

On October 2nd, we were privileged to spend the morning with Ambassador Kenneth Quinn. He is the President of the World Food Prize Foundation. The World Food Prize emphasizes the importance of a nutritious and sustainable food supply for all people. By honoring those who have worked successfully toward this goal, The Prize calls attention to what has been done to improve global food security and to what can be accomplished in the future. He volunteered to share his experiences by serving as an interview guest for our 28th episode of Your Invisible Toolbox, our livestream show based on the book of the same name.

Our discussion was around the everyday diplomat, and the skills of diplomacy that would also serve us in our professional and personal lives. Ambassador Quinn shared many examples of diplomacy in action. His past work in Vietnam and Cambodia presented numerous opportunities for him to achieve great results through diplomatic efforts.

What struck us at the end of the interview was an idea he shared that he had recently written about. It was an idea of how to diplomatically approach one of the toughest situations we are facing, the world's relationship with North Korea. From his many years as a diplomat, and his eighteen years at the World Food Prize Foundation, Ambassador Quinn has witnessed how the common ground of food and agriculture is a foundation on which to negotiate peaceful relations. Food, a tangible interest necessary to survival is a true bargaining chip which can provide a win-win outcome, eradicating and dissolving dissimilar positions to create a collaborative environment.

At Tero, we teach the skills of finding common ground, and negotiating win-win solutions diplomatically. The situations to which our graduates apply the skills are not as serious as settling a world crisis, but the skills do work the same effective way in the microcosmic situations of relating and trying to achieve win-win results at work.

We dedicate this issue to the art of finding and building on common ground and demonstrating diplomacy. We are honored to reprint the article Ambassador Quinn wrote to promote his idea of creating common ground on an international scale through agriculture. Scroll down to the link for our featured article of the month to read the article. The Q and A discusses everyday diplomacy. The development challenge demonstrates the value of asking questions to explore interests rather than just stating opinions. And the inspiration is a quote on common ground from Madeline Albright.

We hope you find this issue thought provoking. No matter what our individual positions are, the need to be able to go beyond positions and find common ground is the only way for true, effective, and lasting solutions.