Negotiation Skills Training Workshops
With
over twenty-five years of proven industry experience, the
Negotiations
Training Institute of America is the recognized leader in negotiations
training, consulting and performance coaching. Through public open
enrollment workshops and private on-session training sessions, we
have helped leading corporations, non-profit organizations and governmental
agencies improve their ability to
negotiate
better outcomes for their constituencies.
First-time
negotiators as well as those with the greatest
competitive
drive and amount of first-hand experience and
negotiations
wisdom can benefit from our time-tested workshops. Whether focusing
on
negotiating
a contract with a vendor or jumping in to the often-stressful
car buying process to
deal
with a dealership, our classes provide useful skills, proven techniques
and various classroom role plays to help you
become
more aware of negotiations that you must face on a daily basis.
For more information on our negotiation skills training workshops please
contact us.
Negotiating Training Workshop: The 10 Powers of Negotiation
During his historic negotiations with the South African apartheid government, Nelson Mandela showcased his profound negotiating skills, moral authority and remarkable courage in resisting intimidation, authority and the enormous hubris of those he faced. In researching those historic negotiations and his skills for my book, Detecting the Scam: Nelson Mandela's Gift, I identified ten beacons of knowledge or "powers" of negotiation he had mastered. I called them "The 10 Powers of Negotiation."
Looking back over a career that spanned over 30 years negotiating deals around the world, I became intrigued about how a negotiator's approach to these Powers often reflected his or her approach to business, in particular, and life, in general. This is why I have often described the negotiating process as a "magical window." Look through it and you might just be able to see how the other side in your negotiations is likely to treat you once the deal is done.
So, what are these 10 Powers that offer you this magical window?
The power of understanding that a negotiation is a process;
The power of preparation;
The power of positioning;
The power of common sense and logic;
The power of dignity, congeniality, humility and humor;
The power of truth and fairness;
The power of observation - of listening and seeing;
The power of morality, courage and attitude;
The power of patience; and
The power to walk away.
Something about a negotiation you can take to the bank...
This might sound a tad cynical, but it is my experience that, whether you are looking at a negotiation or at anything else, most people never behave better than when they want something from you. Consider this, therefore: In a negotiation, people invariably want something from you. So, if they behave unreasonably or unfairly in a negotiation, or if they haven't done their homework and are unprofessional, or if they appear to be skirting ethical borders, or if they just have a bad attitude, my experience is that you can expect no better from them after the negotiation is done - after they have what they want. The converse, however, is also true: If they behave reasonably and professionally with a collaborative spirit during the negotiation, there is the reasonable possibility they might act in the same way after the ink on your agreement has dried.
It is in this sense that a negotiation is a magical window into the future - for both sides...
Consider helping the other side...
If you feel so inclined, you might want to consider helping the other side - and, in the process, give your negotiation a firm foundation from which to begin.
One approach I have used over the years is to begin a negotiation by explaining to the other side this concept of a negotiation being a magical window into the future. Effectively, I am inviting them to display to us what it might be like to do business with them after we have reached agreement. I will then disclose to them how we intend to approach the negotiation process:
"We will not ask you for anything that, if our roles were reversed, we wouldn't be prepared to accept ourselves. While it would obviously be nice if you would use the same approach, you don't have to. If you are going to approach the negotiation differently by requiring us to accept provisions you would never accept in our position, we will challenge you to explain why you think your positions are reasonable. If you can't, this will undermine the trust that presently exists between us. And without trust, this will make doing a deal quite difficult."
And if they thereafter still ask us for something that is unreasonable, and if they can't explain why they believe it is reasonable, we have to stare reality in the eye: In all likelihood we are dealing with someone who isn't a straight shooter...
Remember that the magical mirror is a two-way mirror...
We would do well to remember that, just as we are looking at the other side through our magical window for signs of how they might treat us after a deal are done, they too are looking at us through that same window.
Our goal, therefore, should be to present ourselves as professionals who have prepared well for the process and who are reasonable. We should show that we understand their position and the problems they need solved. We should display common sense, logic and reasonableness and a willingness to work together to reach solutions that will solve their problems. Our attitude should reflect our humility and our sense of morality, ethics and fairness. And, if we can do this by not taking ourselves too seriously, we may well demonstrate to the other side that doing future business with us will be a pleasure and might even justify them offering us the concessions we are requesting.
Applying the 10 Powers...
How we specifically apply the 10 Powers of Negotiation is to understand that a negotiation is neither a battle nor a war. Instead, it is a multi-layered and nuanced problem-solving process that requires both sides to understand the problems they face and that they both need solved.
To apply the 10 Powers, therefore, will require us to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time while also holding more than a single thought in our head. Unless we can do this, we are in for a rough time as we face a skilled negotiator. Clearly, unless we have the ability to collaborate and unless we are a problem-solver, we face the unhappy prospect of having to push a very heavy rock up a quite steep hill. More about that in future articles...
But, as we prepare ourselves for this, we should never lose sight of that magical window, which we should always look through with great interest.
Source: Michael Friedlander Link
For Negotiation
Workshop information please
contact
us.
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