RW Blog

RW360 produces a weekly blog that provides practical tips on how to apply relational wisdom in a wide variety of settings, including the workplace, marriage and parenting, with relatives and friends, political discussions and when faced with illness or aging.

This blog is typically written from a faith-based worldview, but most of the basic principles readily apply to the relational goals and challenges that all people face in daily life, regardless of worldview.

Many of these posts have been adapted for use in secular settings and in our values-based course, Exploring Relational Wisdom 3.0. These posts are listed below.

If you'd like to see 200+ additional faith-based posts in 50+ additional topic areas, or if you'd like to subscribe to our weekly blog, please click on the button below.

RW for Families

Exploring Relational Wisdom 3.0 is an interactive online course that both parents and children can use to develop relational skills that enable them to…

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Ken Sande

Preventing a Breach

I learned the hard way how easy it is to breach a dam. When I was fourteen, my dad hired a contractor to enlarge a…

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Ken Sande

Lincoln's Relational Wisdom

The current political climate, at both state and national levels, has highlighted the close connection between politics, pride and emotion. In an outward sense, every…

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Ken Sande

Reagan, Lincoln, RW and You

Study Ronald Reagan and Abraham Lincoln and you’ll learn a great deal about how to relate to your spouse, children, friends and co-workers…

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Ken Sande

Serving a Barista

She was working the early shift at a small Starbucks counter in Dulles Airport. The young barista had probably been up since 4 or 5…

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Ken Sande

Raising Emotionally Stunted Boys

I’ve met with hundreds of couples who were struggling to save their marriages. One of the most common statements wives make in those meetings…

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Ken Sande

The Last Human Freedom

“The last of the human freedoms is to choose one’s attitude.” So wrote Viktor Frankl, an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist who survived the Holocaust…

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Ken Sande

Three Values that Improve Every Relationship

I’ve hired many people … and fired only a few. My best co-workers thrived because of three key character values. The disappointing ones struggled…

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Ken Sande

Hidden Figures

Hidden Figures is one of the best movies I’ve seen in years. This superb movie portrays the remarkable character and accomplishments of three brilliant…

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Ken Sande

Preparing Children for Life

When Corlette and I were raising and educating our children, we struggled far more with relational challenges than we did with academic content. Put four…

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Ken Sande

Reconciled by a Baby Moose

After two fruitless mediation sessions, Dave and Don were still miles apart and more bitter than ever. Best friends since high school, Don had hired…

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Ken Sande

Three Ways to Multiply Kindness

This true story from an airline pilot about a fallen soldier’s journey home illustrates a the importance of always being alert to opportunities to…

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Ken Sande

The Three P's of Satisfaction

It’s not often that an attorney loses a lawsuit, along with her two million dollar contingency fee, and yet walks away satisfied. I’ve…

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Ken Sande

Gracious Eyes

Years ago I completed a particularly sad divorce mediation. The husband had tried for years to meet his wife’s expectations, but she was adept…

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Ken Sande

If Your Enemy Is Hungry ...

When I graduated from college, I was hired by a medical R&D company that was developing an advanced kidney dialysis machine. Within one…

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Ken Sande

Falsely Accused

I often warn people that when they start studying relational wisdom, real growth comes through “homework.” That’s what happened last week to a young…

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Ken Sande

Lawyer vs Teacher

I’m not a fun person to argue with. When my pride kicks in, I find it all too easy to use my legal training…

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Ken Sande

If Your Enemy Needs Electricity

Rich, a dear friend of mine, had a horrible conflict with his neighbor, Cynthia. A property line dispute that began with debates in the back…

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Ken Sande

Have You Ever Been This Kind?

When was the last time you did something that was so amazingly kind that others will remember your actions the rest of their lives? If…

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Ken Sande

Manipulative Double Messages

One of the most effective ways to undermine a relationship is to use double-messages to manipulate other people. This all-too-common process was…

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Ken Sande

The Three Faces of Fear

Fear usually triggers one of three reactions: control, anger or withdrawal (the latter two actually being forms of the first). This is a key insight…

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Ken Sande

Giving a Kidney Models RW

Before I became a lawyer, I worked as an engineer on a team that designed hemodialysis machines. While talking with patients going through dialysis, I…

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Ken Sande

Raising Empathetic Children

My daughter was sitting on the floor in my study crying softly. Megan had been sharing a sad story with me, and her emotions overflowed…

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Ken Sande

Seven Steps to Empathy

Without empathy, it’s hard to have real relationship. The good news is that since each of us has a natural capacity for developing and…

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Ken Sande

Four Ways to Defeat Hijacking

In 1965, two United States Army battalions stumbled into the first large unit battle with regular North Vietnamese soldiers in the la Drang Valley of…

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Ken Sande

Relational Stupidity

I’ve seen a lot of foolish behavior during my thirty-two years as a professional conciliator. Like the man who divorced his lovely wife…

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Ken Sande

If Your Enemy is Freezing

One night in the early years of our marriage, Corlette and I had such an intense disagreement that we went to bed unreconciled. Yes, we…

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Ken Sande

Olympic RW

Jessica Long was born in Siberia … without legs. Left at a grim orphanage as a baby, she’s gone on to win twelve gold medals…

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Ken Sande

I Am Home

Do people feel relationally safe in your home? Your church? Your school? Your business? Is it the place they long to come to when the…

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Ken Sande

Seven Benefits of a Smile

Megan was eighteen months old when she decided to test her smile on a Hells Angel. Just before a vacation in Jackson, Wyoming, she had…

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Ken Sande

Serving During Surgery

Not long ago, I was once again was well-served by an outstanding medical team. Over a dozen people at the Billings Clinic pooled their…

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Ken Sande

Dolphins vs. Eagles

Children often demonstrate far more relational wisdom than adults. Simply compare the bullying scandal in the Miami Dolphins locker room with the remarkable sensitivity shown…

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Ken Sande

Here's Looking at You Kid

You’re in for a treat today. Humphrey Bogart is providing an unforgettable example of relational wisdom. His platform is Casablanca, a movie that has…

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Ken Sande

Wounding and Healing

Many of us have no idea how often we wound the people around us. We don’t deliberately set out to hurt others, but because…

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Ken Sande

Spanglish

Today’s movie clip is one of my favorites. It illustrates several key relational skills, including empathy, self-control, and the use of perceptive questions…

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Ken Sande

A Disastrous Employee

Ben was one of the most gifted and yet deeply flawed executives I’ve ever encountered. When I was asked to mediate tensions within the…

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Ken Sande

Really Nice Pants

In today’s movie clip, Will Smith demonstrates the enormous benefit relational wisdom (RW) can have in the workplace. The clip comes from the movie…

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Ken Sande

The Compassionate Boxer

Cinderella Man is one of my favorite movies, largely because it stars Russell Crowe, one of my favorite actors. The story is based on the…

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Ken Sande