In this episode of the NEGOTIATEx podcast, Fred E. Jandt reflects on his work with the California Department of Transportation. It's where he led a transformative initiative to promote negotiation mastery and conflict resolution amid rising demands for accountability. By training managers in structured conflict analysis, he shifted leadership from reactive habits to strategic engagement.

Fred emphasizes emotional regulation—especially anger—as essential to negotiation mastery and explores how virtual platforms and AI have redefined mediation. Addressing power imbalances and ethical challenges, he highlights preparation and empathy as core to effective leadership.

He concludes with actionable strategies for influencing upward, aligning proposals with authority figures' priorities through clarity, persuasion, and emotional intelligence.