10 Key Lessons on Negotiation - Part 2

This article follows on 10 Key Lessons from the World of Negotiation - Part 1 .

LESSON 6 - ALWAYS ASPIRE TO JOINT OPPORTUNITY FINDING

Negotiation is not merely an act of joint problem solving. Although it undoubtedly does assist in removing a problem from the negotiation table, this is a rather restricted view of what negotiation can achieve. By defining negotiation as joint problem-solving it is assigned an inward focus towards the removal of the problem and therefore is past or present related. When negotiation is, however framed as opportunity finding the primary focus becomes outward and therefore future orientated. The problem is then the stimulus for jointly exploring a wide array of opportunities that will not only remove the problem from the table, but also unveil new possibilities than can be jointly exploited. From the opportunity finding perspective negotiation becomes an innovative interaction that is targeted beyond the mere removal of a problem.

LESSON 7 - NEGOTIATION IS PRIMARILY A PROCESS, NOT AN EVENT

With the possible exception of the purchase or sale of a home, negotiation is a process. In most business dealings, the parties very seldom only negotiate once. There tends to be an element of continuity in their negotiation e.g. when they appraise staff performance, enter into future contracts, negotiate salaries and wages etc. What this in essence means is that negotiators consistently need to be aware that they should always negotiate in a manner that will not negatively influence future negotiations. Although in a particular negotiation it may seem quite beneficial to victimise the other party, it always needs to be borne in mind that this party will then be highly likely to seek revenge at the next negotiation. The gain achieved by disregarding the fact that the parties will in future again negotiate rapidly becomes a liability.

For genuine Win More! Negotiation to take place it is essential that negotiators at all times remain aware of the impact their negotiation strategies and tactics have on the relationship between the negotiating parties. This precludes negotiators from victimising the other party, as they then appreciate that such action is very likely to result in that party distrusting them and in future becoming an aggressor to reclaim that taken from them unfairly .

LESSON 8 - INFORMATION IS POWER IN NEGOTIATION

The more information a negotiator has about the issue at hand and the parties with whom he/ she will be negotiating, the stronger the power base of that negotiator. There is a very strong correlation between the availability of good information and negotiating power. To enter a negotiation without having done the necessary research is foolish.

Research has strongly demonstrated that 75 percent of the utterances of good negotiators are in the form of questions that primarily elicit information. The reasoning of these negotiators being that questions invite participation, involve the other party and obtain information, whereas statement often achieve the very opposite. Furthermore, questions demonstrate a willingness to listen to the other party's views, and therefore create a climate in which the other party feels sufficiently secure to share its interests and be attentive to the interests of its counterpart.

LESSON 9 - FRAMING IS A STRONG DETERMINANT OF A NEGOTIATION OUTCOME

Negotiators need to be aware that decision-makers are inclined to treat the prospect of gains differently from the prospect of losses . When asked to consider potential gains they are inclined to be risk-averse, rather opting for a guaranteed outcome, whereas they tend to be risk-seeking when weighing potential losses. The way negotiators frame their questions is therefore crucial, as significant losses tend to look much larger than significant gains.

What this means in practice is that negotiators need to be very sensitive to the possibility that a negative frame (potential loss) could encourage risky/destructive behaviour on the part of the other party, whereas a positive frame (potential gain) could motivate the other party to opt for a mutually beneficial outcome. This is, however, unfortunately not as simple as it may seem, as there is a strong body of evidence which suggests that most persons tend to be more strongly motivated by loss than by gain. Negotiators would therefore be foolhardy if they did not only tell the other party what it stands to gain by working together, but also what it stands to lose.

LESSON 10 - TRUST AND CREDIBILITY ARE THE CORNERSTONES OF WIN MORE! AGREEMENTS

In our ever more hectic business world, negotiators often forget that importance of establishing their credibility and nurturing a trust relationship. They tend to be heavily content orientated and thus pay scant attention to the contextual aspects of a negotiation. Their immediate aim is to get their teeth into the meat of the negotiation, forgetting that this is only meaningfully possible within an enabling climate that inspires the other party to cooperate.

For a negotiation to meet the acid test of any negotiation, namely that the agreement arrived at will hold, it is essential that negotiators first start out by establishing their credibility, then building the relationship, and only thereafter getting into the nuts and bolts of the negotiation. This creates a framework within which the other party feels sufficiently secure to step out of its position and open itself to a joint opportunity finding interaction.

When parties doubt each other's credibility and do not trust each other, they will not tolerate the inevitable degree of vulnerability that creative negotiation requires. They will then tend to be heavily loss orientated, very defensive and prone to thought closure.

The basic human rule of reciprocity dictates that negotiators wishing to move the other party from its preconceived position must first show to that party their willingness to be expose their position, thereby establishing the trust need for that party to move outside its stated position.

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