Make interest-based negotiation a team capability

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About CMA Consulting Group

Consulting and training services that help your people add value and build relationships in every interaction

There are a lot of consulting and training companies out there. Some do only one thing, others try to do everything. What makes CMA Consulting Group different?

Focused expertise, flexible delivery

CMA Consulting Group was founded in 1993, with a mission to change the way that people negotiate deals and resolve disputes. Since then, our expertise has expanded…but it remains squarely focused on helping people work together to get things done. That focus helps us maintain the highest level of expertise in our chosen field.

Likewise, we have evolved to meet the changing needs of our clients. From our earliest public workshops, to tailored in-house training, to leadership programs and virtual learning, the common theme has been innovation and development. Our services menu gives you an indication of the range of learning and development options we now deliver.

With consultants based in Melbourne and Boston, and our virtual training platform, we provide training and consulting to clients around the world. We have a proud history of working across industries, markets, and time zones to deliver exceptional services.

Whatever the delivery method, our focus on quality is central to all our learning design. Our goal is always to deliver real and lasting improvements in people’s knowledge, skills and actual behaviour.

In every engagement, we also consult with you to ensure we’re delivering what you need, when you need it. From customising your chosen workshop, to a full end-to-end partnership for organisational development, this consulting service is the basis of all our work with you. And for those of you who have known us as CMA Learning Group…it’s also the basis of our 2020 rebranding to CMA Consulting Group!

Teigan Murphy

Chief Executive Officer

As a company, CMA is simply inspirational. With a mission to help people, and a commitment to change behaviour - we strive to innovate and deliver exceptional client experiences. I'm proud to lead a talented, energetic and forward-thinking team.

Teigan MurphyChief Executive Officer

World-leading approaches developed at Harvard University

At the heart of all our services are content and methodologies developed at the Harvard Program on Negotiation.

Harvard University’s Program on Negotiation (PON) is a collaboration between Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Tufts University. Its goal is to advance the theory and practice of negotiation, problem-solving and conflict resolution. The books and materials created by PON scholars during the last 35 years have transformed the way millions of people address personal, professional and even international differences.

“Conflict Management Australasia” (as we were first known) was founded by Eliezer Kornhauser in 1993, at the invitation of one of PON’s consulting arms, the Conflict Management Group. CMA conducted our first workshops with the assistance of the (late) PON co-founder Professor Roger Fisher. We consolidated and expanded the business together with Harvard Professors Doug Stone and Sheila Heen. The theories, tools and practical advice developed by these international experts, who co-wrote the best seller books Getting to Yes, Difficult Conversations, and Thanks for the Feedback (and others), serve as the foundation for our learning programs.

Founded in 1983, the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School is a pioneer in the fields of negotiation, mediation, and alternative dispute resolution. PON created this “30th anniversary” video, describing many of its educational and research activities.

CMA Consulting Group’s teaching methods are also sourced from PON’s best practices. Our facilitative instruction style helps participants “learn by doing”, combining exploratory and intentional practice with focused reflection and feedback. By following the Harvard method of experiential learning exercises, our participants leave with increased self-awareness, deeper knowledge, and practical skills they feel committed to using.

Over the years, we have maintained our connection with PON experts as their (and our) ideas and teaching approaches have evolved. With over 25 years experience in the content and methodology pioneered at PON, we have a depth of understanding that is unrivalled in Asia Pacific.

Other benefits of our Harvard-based approach include:

Researched and tested frameworks for positive results.

World leading recognised frameworks combined with a shared language by global organisations.

Transferable purpose for both professional and personal use.

Adaptability – you can adapt the way you use the frameworks based on your own style, your counterparts’ styles and the situations you are in.

Our Approach

Our unique approach to learning ensures your organisation receives a tailored session with every workshop delivered. When you partner with CMA, we work with you every step of the way:

CLIENT CONSULTATION

We work with clients to understand the learning needs and behavioural change required.

CASE STUDY CUSTOMISATION

All workshops include one customised case study to enhance skills applied within the workplace.

PARTICIPANT ANALYSIS

We learn more about the participants and their personal challenges, tailoring our facilitative examples to individual needs.

WORKSHOP DELIVERY

Our experienced practitioners will deliver the workshop at your chosen location.

SKILLS REINFORCEMENT

Post the workshop, participants receive helpful content reminders, access to our Alumni Portal and online coaching service.

Passion and integrity

Since 1993, our passion and our integrity have been constants.

We’re deeply passionate about what we teach. Our focus on ethical approaches that create value and build relationships is satisfying and rewarding…so we want to share it with others!

We’re also committed to “walking the talk”. All our interactions – with clients and with participants – reflect and demonstrate the collaborative, interests based frameworks that we teach

And we are very strict on ensuring the quality that we promise. Our in-house and associate consultants are all practitioners, with real world experience to inspire others. Each of them is also an expert facilitator, matched to engage fully with your group of participants.

Want to experience the CMA difference? Call us today, to explore together how our expertise can address your pressing needs.

At CMA, we are a team of dynamic and hard-working people who genuinely see our clients’ success as our own. Every day is different: whether we are empowering front-line leaders or coaching high-achieving executives, our work constantly evolves to meet our clients’ every need. I feel uniquely lucky that my work centres around helping individuals collaborate with more creativity, fewer conflicts, and greater results. I think of our work as sitting at the intersection of passion and professionalism: we make a difference, one client at a time.

Deanna ParrishManagement Consultant