Everything is Negotiable
Key Elements of Negotiation
Negotiation is complex and requires substantial planning. The key is a five step process for managing the negotiation and the interest of all the parties to the negotiation.
Negotiation requires adherence to a process we use our patented five-stage process. You cannot negotiate flying by ‘the set of your pants’. You really need an organised, systemised approach. For now it is sufficient to refer to the broad elements and the ‘ethos’ embedded in the five stage process. It is necessary to do this because many of the issues I will be talking about occur in one or more multiple stages and expressed with different intensity. If you require details of our five step process contact us.
Structure vs. Indiscipline
At every stage of the Negotiation process you have to be constantly alert and focused on keeping to a structure, because, in too many instances, adopting a casual approach to negotiations or demonstrating any indiscipline will lead to consequences which may seriously and severely disadvantage both parties.
Negotiation is a process where two or more people or parties come together to bargain and reach resolution. Bargaining is mutual consent to do business together between people who have a mutual interest when they discuss their own individual needs and agree at a decision that has benefits for both parties.
Forum for Exchanging Views
This involves discussing a variety of issues. The negotiations may be either formal or informal and most of what I will be talking about is business related or commercially orientated, but remember
‘Everything is Negotiable’.
Formal Negotiations are usually with Clients or Customers, or maybe potential or actual business Partners, investors or even industry regulators etc. Alternatively, Negotiations could be a discussion about terms and conditions with contractors freelancers, IT developers or HR or Marketing specialists who supply your business. It could also be an informal relationship that is on its way to growing to becoming more formal.
What are Interests?
Good examples of what we call ‘interests’ are: key issues and priorities, concerns and fears that relate to the context and implications of the Negotiation. Then you have to consider the substance, as you might say, the content of the negotiation whether for instance it is related to sales, customer needs, research, raising capital winning support for a Joint venture or a whole host of other issues.
The Negotiation could be organised to agree a process around how you will work together in the future. It will certainly will be an opportunity to communicate and exchange ideas, opportunities and proposals and of course it can be in an informal or formal process in either formal or informal settings.
Formality in Negotiations
The degree of formality is important because a structure needs to be agreed in any process of negotiation. Within the main structure of the negotiation, other informal structures support the main framework. For instance, consider the impact of not reaching agreement. If there is a problem what do you do? Where does that leave you?
Stalemate in Negotiations & Adjournments
If stalemate is reached, do you stop and walk away and hope that one day soon – you will somehow come back together, or do you note there will be occasions when neither yourself nor your negotiation partner will know what to do next. When that happens you need a contingency plan.
This means you have to learn to expect there to be silences. If that is the case and neither part is going anywhere, then you need to think about – adjournments. These can either be timed and scheduled, or just informally agreed.
What is important is to recognise when an unscheduled adjournment or break is required, and further, when you return to Negotiate you don’t go back over old ground. You need to ensure that you summarise progress before you break for adjournments so you agree exactly where you are and where you agree and disagreed.
Start with the End in Mind
Negotiations must be structured as best you can, which means the process from beginning to end – that means you have to start with the end in mind – you need to be constantly aware of what you seek to achieve.
You may find that you change your mind about certain things during the negotiation –and I say “that is okay” – because it means you are being flexible. Remember that you will be developing maturity and trust in the relationships you are building with others with whom you are negotiating
Separate the People from the Problem
You need to differentiate the people and their attitudes and behaviours, from the principles you are negotiating over. Realistically, you could hold prejudices. You may have some history with them which can prejudice you towards or against them. Both these attitudes can have negative consequences for you both. Let’s be clear. You need to be neutral.
Neutral
You need to separate the person from the problem and recognise that we may not like everyone with whom we negotiate. They may not be your type of person – the chemistry maybe lacking but you may still have to negotiate because of the business issue – so for goodness sake take a neutral stance – it will work for you in the long run.
I am not expecting you to like the other party, simply respect their viewpoints
Interests not Positions
Too many parties in Negotiations are worried about their relative status. Forget it, it is about Negotiating Interests, not your position in the scheme of things. Real negotiation is not about making demands and then acknowledging concessions – that is what we call distributive bargaining. This is when the size of the pie is fixed and we are then arguing about the slicing of the pie and how the slices will be allocated or distributed to each party.
Win-Win
Negotiation should not be adversarial – Integrative negotiation is about building a positive relationship and making the pie bigger, so everyone can get a bigger slice. Negotiation is about exploring the whole range of issues that need further investigation for the benefit of all parties
Options & “What if” & “If ….then”
Use terms here that you can use at each and every stage in your negotiation, and the terms are “what if” and “If….Then”. They give you lots of flexibility if you use them and adopt the right mindset, then you can generate the right packages.
Packages & Unbundle
With options come packages and these are really a bundle of interests, concerns and issues that each side or party in the negotiation want to achieve.
Part of the purpose of the Negotiation is to work out the other parties package and then unbundle it into separate items so you know the value of each and every item from their perspective the reason being to compare value.
Compare Value
You can compare it to the value that you place on it from your perspective and this approach to creative Negotiating is about creating a bundle of packages of core issues that all can agree upon with the purpose of really benefitting all. The problem is that not all parties place equal value on each of the items in their respective bundle of packages.
Exchange
Negotiation is about agreeing the exchange of one thing or many things for something else in other words negotiation is about inventing options for mutual gain.
Open Mind & Joint Problem Solving
That means keeping an open mind, and being innovative, and looking for many solutions by focusing on joint problem solving.
Making the size of the overall pie bigger so each party can have a larger slice is Focusing on joint problem solving, because it enables all parties to broaden their options. So, ultimately, it is about searching for mutual gains.
Bargaining Range
Each of the parties to the negotiation will have a bargaining range. Even if they don’t know what the term means they will have an idea of what they have to sacrifice in order give up to get what they want. A Bargaining range measures the extremes that each party will go to reach their goals.
It is about defining and separating your own preferred options from your absolute least preferred options, and, more importantly, negotiation is about working out the least and most preferred options of the other party and that’s what many people neglect to do.
Agreement & Planning
That’s is negotiations fall apart, and as well as Parties not having the time or inclination to actually work out their least and most preferred positions, the single biggest issue in agreeing negotiations is getting the parties to prepare.
Planning means working out options and issues in advance of Negotiating, because without defining and knowing what you want, how can you put a value on the concessions you may have to make in order to get what you really want? For now, let us focus on an objective assessment of how we will assess value for what you have agreed.
Criteria
How you measure what is of value to you both should be created right at the beginning of the Negotiation process. For instance, if we agree that we want to work together to develop a joint service that will benefit both our businesses, then we have to come up with criteria that meet all our needs – this means…we have to give and take.
So before we even get started we have to agree on our criteria. Are we broadly talking about apples or oranges or about increasing our joint revenue streams?
You have to learn to give and take whether it is ‘driving new clients to our joint businesses’ or whether ‘my advertising will also benefit your business’ – the list is endless. You do need some criteria against which to measure your relative success.
Front Loaded
Effective Negotiation is front loaded. You must have done a lot of preparation before you enter the negotiation arena however informal or formal you expect it to be. The criteria both parties agree upon must be objective, and better to agree this before the negotiation and not yield to pressure later.
What is your Plan B?
Any successful Negotiation should always have a Plan B. If you walk away, what’s your best alternative option to a Negotiated agreement?
Avoid Dirty Tricks
If you withdraw you should avoid dirty tricks at all costs, the Practise of promoting your ‘winning’ to the ‘detriment’ of others has no part to play in an authentic Negotiation.
For further details of our approach to Negotiation email Philip or use the contact form or phone him 44(0) 7779-799286
Negotiation is complex and requires substantial planning. The key is a five step process for managing the negotiation and the interest of all the parties to the negotiation.
Negotiation requires adherence to a process we use our patented five-stage process. You cannot negotiate flying by ‘the set of your pants’. You really need an organised, systemised approach. For now it is sufficient to refer to the broad elements and the ‘ethos’ embedded in the five stage process. It is necessary to do this because many of the issues I will be talking about occur in one or more multiple stages and expressed with different intensity. If you require details of our five step process contact us.
Structure vs. Indiscipline
At every stage of the Negotiation process you have to be constantly alert and focused on keeping to a structure, because, in too many instances, adopting a casual approach to negotiations or demonstrating any indiscipline will lead to consequences which may seriously and severely disadvantage both parties.
Negotiation is a process where two or more people or parties come together to bargain and reach resolution. Bargaining is mutual consent to do business together between people who have a mutual interest when they discuss their own individual needs and agree at a decision that has benefits for both parties.
Forum for Exchanging Views
This involves discussing a variety of issues. The negotiations may be either formal or informal and most of what I will be talking about is business related or commercially orientated, but remember
‘Everything is Negotiable’.
Formal Negotiations are usually with Clients or Customers, or maybe potential or actual business Partners, investors or even industry regulators etc. Alternatively, Negotiations could be a discussion about terms and conditions with contractors freelancers, IT developers or HR or Marketing specialists who supply your business. It could also be an informal relationship that is on its way to growing to becoming more formal.
What are Interests?
Good examples of what we call ‘interests’ are: key issues and priorities, concerns and fears that relate to the context and implications of the Negotiation. Then you have to consider the substance, as you might say, the content of the negotiation whether for instance it is related to sales, customer needs, research, raising capital winning support for a Joint venture or a whole host of other issues.
The Negotiation could be organised to agree a process around how you will work together in the future. It will certainly will be an opportunity to communicate and exchange ideas, opportunities and proposals and of course it can be in an informal or formal process in either formal or informal settings.
Formality in Negotiations
The degree of formality is important because a structure needs to be agreed in any process of negotiation. Within the main structure of the negotiation, other informal structures support the main framework. For instance, consider the impact of not reaching agreement. If there is a problem what do you do? Where does that leave you?
Stalemate in Negotiations & Adjournments
If stalemate is reached, do you stop and walk away and hope that one day soon – you will somehow come back together, or do you note there will be occasions when neither yourself nor your negotiation partner will know what to do next. When that happens you need a contingency plan.
This means you have to learn to expect there to be silences. If that is the case and neither part is going anywhere, then you need to think about – adjournments. These can either be timed and scheduled, or just informally agreed.
What is important is to recognise when an unscheduled adjournment or break is required, and further, when you return to Negotiate you don’t go back over old ground. You need to ensure that you summarise progress before you break for adjournments so you agree exactly where you are and where you agree and disagreed.
Start with the End in Mind
Negotiations must be structured as best you can, which means the process from beginning to end – that means you have to start with the end in mind – you need to be constantly aware of what you seek to achieve.
You may find that you change your mind about certain things during the negotiation –and I say “that is okay” – because it means you are being flexible. Remember that you will be developing maturity and trust in the relationships you are building with others with whom you are negotiating
Separate the People from the Problem
You need to differentiate the people and their attitudes and behaviours, from the principles you are negotiating over. Realistically, you could hold prejudices. You may have some history with them which can prejudice you towards or against them. Both these attitudes can have negative consequences for you both. Let’s be clear. You need to be neutral.
Neutral
You need to separate the person from the problem and recognise that we may not like everyone with whom we negotiate. They may not be your type of person – the chemistry maybe lacking but you may still have to negotiate because of the business issue – so for goodness sake take a neutral stance – it will work for you in the long run.
I am not expecting you to like the other party, simply respect their viewpoints
Interests not Positions
Too many parties in Negotiations are worried about their relative status. Forget it, it is about Negotiating Interests, not your position in the scheme of things. Real negotiation is not about making demands and then acknowledging concessions – that is what we call distributive bargaining. This is when the size of the pie is fixed and we are then arguing about the slicing of the pie and how the slices will be allocated or distributed to each party.
Win-Win
Negotiation should not be adversarial – Integrative negotiation is about building a positive relationship and making the pie bigger, so everyone can get a bigger slice. Negotiation is about exploring the whole range of issues that need further investigation for the benefit of all parties
Options & “What if” & “If ….then”
Use terms here that you can use at each and every stage in your negotiation, and the terms are “what if” and “If….Then”. They give you lots of flexibility if you use them and adopt the right mindset, then you can generate the right packages.
Packages & Unbundle
With options come packages and these are really a bundle of interests, concerns and issues that each side or party in the negotiation want to achieve.
Part of the purpose of the Negotiation is to work out the other parties package and then unbundle it into separate items so you know the value of each and every item from their perspective the reason being to compare value.
Compare Value
You can compare it to the value that you place on it from your perspective and this approach to creative Negotiating is about creating a bundle of packages of core issues that all can agree upon with the purpose of really benefitting all. The problem is that not all parties place equal value on each of the items in their respective bundle of packages.
Exchange
Negotiation is about agreeing the exchange of one thing or many things for something else in other words negotiation is about inventing options for mutual gain.
Open Mind & Joint Problem Solving
That means keeping an open mind, and being innovative, and looking for many solutions by focusing on joint problem solving.
Making the size of the overall pie bigger so each party can have a larger slice is Focusing on joint problem solving, because it enables all parties to broaden their options. So, ultimately, it is about searching for mutual gains.
Bargaining Range
Each of the parties to the negotiation will have a bargaining range. Even if they don’t know what the term means they will have an idea of what they have to sacrifice in order give up to get what they want. A Bargaining range measures the extremes that each party will go to reach their goals.
It is about defining and separating your own preferred options from your absolute least preferred options, and, more importantly, negotiation is about working out the least and most preferred options of the other party and that’s what many people neglect to do.
Agreement & Planning
That’s is negotiations fall apart, and as well as Parties not having the time or inclination to actually work out their least and most preferred positions, the single biggest issue in agreeing negotiations is getting the parties to prepare.
Planning means working out options and issues in advance of Negotiating, because without defining and knowing what you want, how can you put a value on the concessions you may have to make in order to get what you really want? For now, let us focus on an objective assessment of how we will assess value for what you have agreed.
Criteria
How you measure what is of value to you both should be created right at the beginning of the Negotiation process. For instance, if we agree that we want to work together to develop a joint service that will benefit both our businesses, then we have to come up with criteria that meet all our needs – this means…we have to give and take.
So before we even get started we have to agree on our criteria. Are we broadly talking about apples or oranges or about increasing our joint revenue streams?
You have to learn to give and take whether it is ‘driving new clients to our joint businesses’ or whether ‘my advertising will also benefit your business’ – the list is endless. You do need some criteria against which to measure your relative success.
Front Loaded
Effective Negotiation is front loaded. You must have done a lot of preparation before you enter the negotiation arena however informal or formal you expect it to be. The criteria both parties agree upon must be objective, and better to agree this before the negotiation and not yield to pressure later.
What is your Plan B?
Any successful Negotiation should always have a Plan B. If you walk away, what’s your best alternative option to a Negotiated agreement?
Avoid Dirty Tricks
If you withdraw you should avoid dirty tricks at all costs, the Practise of promoting your ‘winning’ to the ‘detriment’ of others has no part to play in an authentic Negotiation.
For further details of our approach to Negotiation email Philip or use the contact form or phone him 44(0) 7779-799286
