Atty. Michael Tsur, the founder of Shakla & Tariya, has over three decades of experience in negotiation, crisis management and mediation. He teaches in the field of negotiation at the Hebrew University and gives presentations internationally at leading academic institutions. He advises, supports and guides individuals, senior executives and professional teams, at companies and organizations in Israel, USA, India, Italy, Switzerland, Australia, Georgia, Eastern Europe and elsewhere. In 1996, Michael founded and directed the first center in Israel for mediation and conflict resolution and was among the designers of this field in Israel. He is married to Iris, is the father of Mor, Noya, Odaya and Netanela, and the grandfather of Yoav and Avishai.
Michael Tsur, Atty., Negotiation and Crisis Management Specialist
Atty. Michael Tsur, born in 1963, is an international expert in conducting negotiations, managing crisis situations and processing conflicts, in a wide range of fields.
Among the designers and developers of the field of mediation in Israel, Michael founded Shakla & Tariya, an innovative center, the first of its kind in the world, for studying the professions of negotiation.
Michael is a member of international teams for negotiation management, and is a senior advisor for companies, CEOs, chairpersons and executive boards in crisis situations. His offices in Israel, USA and Italy, deal with support, planning and management of negotiation processes for major companies and organizations.
Michael is a member and team leader in the IDF General Staff’s negotiation unit and was involved in negotiation processes and terrorism incidents, managing crisis situations and attacks, and bargaining and releasing hostages.
Since 1996, he has been undertaking academic and professional collaborations with leading universities in Israel and internationally, and he received special recognition from Prof. Roger Fisher for the work they did together.
Designing and Integrating the Field of Mediation in Israel
Recognized internationally in the field of conflict resolution, Michael was actively involved in bringing, designing and developing the field and profession of mediation in Israel. In 1992, he completed his law studies at the College of Management Academic Studies, where he served as the chairperson of the Student Union for two consecutive terms and by 1995 founded the first center of its kind in Israel for mediation and conflict resolution.
In 1996, he brought to Israel the methods and tools he had acquired and developed with the directors of the Program on Negotiation (PON) at Harvard University, which in those days was the foremost center of knowledge and training in the field of negotiation, a program which focused on developing methods for conducting negotiations, processing conflicts, mediation and conflict resolution, and he created the infrastructure for integrating these subjects in Israel in the field of law and in the organizational and business sectors.
Among the founders of the Israel Mediators Organization, Michael served as its chairperson for its first two terms of office. He was also a co-founder of the Mediation and Conflict Resolution Institute at the Israel Ministry of Justice and was one of the first mediators in the Supreme Court, where he was among those chosen to instruct judges in Israel in the integration, design and positioning of mediation in the legal system.
Developing and Promoting the Field of Negotiation as an Independent Profession in Israel and Worldwide
Michael began promoting the concept of negotiation as a distinct profession in 2000 and published a Hebrew edition of the book, Difficult Conversations – How to Discuss What Matters Most, in 2003, on the merit of his collaboration with Sheila Heen and Douglas Stone, from the Program on Negotiation at Harvard University, and the proprietors of the Triad Consulting Group.
In 2010, he founded Shakla & Tariya, in Israel, the first school of its kind in the world for studying the negotiation professions, which trains its students to analyze, guide and support negotiation processes in diverse fields – from business and corporate management day to day, to management in challenging realities and processing extreme crisis situations, including the effects of technological developments on different kinds of relationships.
Since then, he has also been creating and developing negotiation training programs in the USA, Italy, Switzerland and Georgia.
Michael lectures in the field of negotiation in leading academic institutions, in Israel and internationally, and has taught at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, in the Faculty of Law, the Business School, and the Executive MBA program; and in master’s degree programs for conflict resolution at the Mitchell Hamline School of Law, USA; the Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University, USA; the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Italy; the Ortygia Business School, Italy; and the Tbilisi State University, Georgia.