Most couples
know how to argue.
Few know how
to negotiate.
After 30 years in negotiation and nearly two decades helping couples through divorce, Joe Dillon built a seven-step framework that helps couples get what they need — without losing each other in the process.
He's seen how marriages end. Now he's teaching couples how to stay together.
Joe Dillon has spent nearly two decades in rooms where marriages end — which gave him an unusually clear view of exactly how they go wrong. As founder of Equitable Mediation Services, he has helped thousands of couples navigate the hardest transitions of their lives across 20+ states and countries.
But somewhere along the way, he started noticing the patterns. The same failure modes, over and over. The same missed signals. The same conversations that never happened. And he started asking: what if couples had these tools before things fell apart?
That question became POWER UP — a practical, field-tested negotiation framework for the everyday decisions of married life.
Seven steps. Every hard conversation. One framework.
Whether you're asking for a guys' trip to Vegas or telling your spouse you got a job offer in another city — the framework works because it's built on how people actually think, feel, and decide.
"Every successful negotiation makes a deposit into your Marriage Bank. Over time, those deposits build a relationship strong enough to handle anything." — Joe Dillon
The book isn't out yet — but the ideas are already landing in inboxes every week. Get weekly POWER UP tips — and a free chapter when the book drops — at powerupmethod.com.
Get Weekly Tips →Finally. A practical book for couples who don't need saving — just better tools.
Most marriage books are written for couples in crisis. This one isn't. You're Doing It Wrong: A Professional Negotiator's Seven-Step Framework for Married Couples is for couples who want to stay that way — who are tired of the same argument recycling every few weeks, who know they love each other but somehow keep getting the conversations wrong.
Part negotiation masterclass, part comedy of errors, the book follows real couples through the moments where marriages are quietly made or quietly broken — and teaches the POWER UP framework that transforms how you ask, listen, and respond.
Practical, funny, and deeply human. The negotiation book your marriage has been waiting for.
Fair warning: your audience will want to go home and try this immediately.
Joe speaks to audiences who are already invested in the health of relationships — couples, clinicians, and communities who understand that a strong marriage doesn't happen by accident. It happens by design.
Couples & Marriage Enrichment
Retreats, marriage education programs, faith community events, and couples workshops. Joe brings the POWER UP framework to life with humor, honesty, and stories every couple will recognize immediately.
Mental Health & Wellness Professionals
Therapists, counselors, social workers, and clinicians who work with couples benefit from a practical negotiation framework their clients can actually use. Ideal for association conferences, CE events, and professional development days.
Divorce & Family Law Professionals
Mediators, collaborative divorce attorneys, and divorce financial advisors. Joe speaks as a peer — 30 years in negotiation, nearly two decades in the room — on what actually moves couples from conflict to resolution.
Ready to bring the POWER UP Method to your audience?
Inquire About SpeakingThe conversation
is already happening.
Thirty years of real deals, real rooms, real outcomes.
Joe brings nearly three decades of entrepreneurial and professional experience into the classroom — not as theory, but as lived practice. His teaching style is direct, case-based, and relentlessly practical.
He has trained 200+ mediation practitioners, presented at professional conferences, developed youth entrepreneurship curricula for the Boys & Girls Club, designed a peer mediation program for The Hun School of Princeton, and guest-lectured at Drexel University and Cal State.
His students leave with frameworks they can use the same day.
Negotiation
Interest-based bargaining, power dynamics, cross-cultural negotiation, and ethics — grounded in Harvard and Northwestern training plus 30 years of live practice.
Entrepreneurship
From founding two businesses to pioneering virtual service delivery in 2011 — firsthand, practical, and honest about what business school doesn't cover.
Business Strategy
Unique perspective from corporate transformation (IEEE: $8M → $130M in five years) and building a multi-state professional services practice from scratch.
Conflict Resolution
Draws on nearly three decades at the mediation table to bring conflict resolution to life through case-based learning and real-world practice.
Let's figure out if Joe is the right fit for your audience.
Whether you're planning a couples retreat, a mental health conference, or a professional development event — Joe is available for keynotes, workshops, and panel appearances.
Speaking inquiries, media requests, and academic opportunities welcome.
Looking for divorce mediation services?
Joe's practice serves clients across 20+ states and countries, with a 98% case resolution rate.