Negotiation is a topic close to my heart and as a procurement professional it’s an activity I have engaged in for more than 20 years. It’s a very useful skill we all use in many contexts. In a past article, I have shared the negotiation process I follow to achieve great results. And in this and future blog posts I will give you some more tips, based on what I have learnt over the years.
And, here’s my first tip.
Consider all options
To make good decisions you need good options available to you. In a negotiation these options are determined by the creativity and mindsets of the negotiating parties. When negotiations break down it is often because the parties run out of options – or at least mutually acceptable options.
That’s why I like to start negotiations by working with the “other side” to generate as many options as possible. To do that three things are needed:
- Adoption of a collaborative mindset by both parties. We are both on the same side trying to solve a joint problem and deciding whether there is enough overlapping interest for a mutually beneficial deal to be struck. The problem to be solved is the “enemy” – not the other party.
- Agreement that just because you suggested an option does not mean you are committed to it. In this initial option generation phase, nothing should be considered as an offer or an acceptance of an offer. That way people are less like to hold back ideas out of fear that they will paint themselves into a corner.
- Willingness to build on each other’s options and think outside the box. Those ideas that are unworkable will quickly be exposed as such. But they may trigger other more workable ones or start a dialogue that moves the negotiation forward.
I was once asked to take over a deadlocked negotiation to move it forward. Discussions had gone nowhere for an entire year. However, the parties reached agreement one month later due to new options I suggested. These options addressed underlying concerns of both parties. We kept improving the options until we eventually had one that was mutually acceptable.
“In business, as in life, you don’t get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate”
Dr. Chester L. Karrass
