Mastering Principled Negotiation: Strategies for Mutual Gain
Understanding Negotiation: Principles and Pitfalls
Key Elements of Negotiation
- Communication: Style, Effectiveness, Tactic
- Relationship: Tone, Approach
- Interests: Seller, Buyer
- Options: Different options they give
- Legitimacy: Market-based standards
- Commitment: Compromiso
- BATNA: Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement (Seller, Buyer)
- Final Reflection: Type of negotiation
Core Principles of Principled Negotiation
- Separate the People from the Problem: Focus on communication.
- Focus on Interests, Not Positions: Understand underlying needs.
- Invent Options for Mutual Gain: Explore alternatives.
- Insist on Using Objective Criteria: Rely on an objective framework.
- Final Reflection: Type of negotiation.
Reconciling Interests, Not Positions
For every interest, there is usually more than one solution available. Behind opposed positions lie many more common interests than conflicting ones. Interests define the problem. Identify interests by asking why a particular position is being taken. Each side has multiple interests, and the most powerful are basic human needs, like financial well-being, a sense of belonging, acknowledgment, and being able to influence the course of your own life. Talk about interests. Acknowledge their interests as part of the problem. State the problem before saying what your answer is. Look toward the future and not the past. Have a clear direction but be flexible in getting there. Be open to new ideas. Be hard on the problem but soft on the people.
The Soft Stance in Negotiation
The soft stance is more concerned with maintaining a good relationship among friends. As such, concessions are made, and one-sided losses are accepted to save the relationship. The soft stance tends to trust others, is soft on people and on the problem, yields to pressure, and discloses its bottom line. The soft stance insists on an agreement by making offers, changing position readily, and searching for solutions acceptable to the other party. The soft stance often results in quick but unwise decisions. There is the risk of being exploited, and consequently, to become bitter.
Understanding Positional Bargaining
Positional bargaining is the standard type of bargaining. Each party takes a position, argues for it, makes concessions, and reaches a compromise. Positional bargaining produces unwise agreements because people tend to become more and more committed to their positions and pay less attention to meeting the underlying concerns of both parties. Positional bargaining is inefficient because it takes more time by creating incentives to stall bargaining, it requires a large number of decisions, and it is costly. With more than two parties, it becomes even more inefficient. Positional bargaining endangers ongoing relationships because it is a contest of wills which tends to produce anger and resentment. Positional bargaining can be done either the soft way or the hard way.
Inventing Options for Mutual Gain
There are four blocks to inventing options for mutual gain:
- Premature judgment
- Searching for a single answer
- Assuming that negotiating is a fixed-sum game
- Thinking that solving their problem is their problem
Good negotiators separate inventing options from judging and deciding. This is easy.
The Principled Negotiation Method
The principled negotiation method is designed to produce wise, efficient, and amicable decisions. There are four principles to this method:
- Separate people from the problem
- Focus on interests, not positions
- Invent options for mutual gains
- Insist on using objective criteria
Principled negotiation is about rules because the authors of this theory wrote it as a way to encourage us to intrinsically become motivated to do what we think is good and essential to negotiate.
The Value of Objective Criteria
The value of objective criteria is that it is cheaper than a contest of wills. In addition, it brings standards of fairness, efficiency, or scientific merit to bear on the decision. Develop objective criteria by finding alternative standards for deciding that are independent of each side’s will. An alternative to fair standards is to develop fair procedures for reaching an agreement. Negotiating with objective criteria contains three steps:
- Frame each issue as a joint search for objective criteria.
- Reason and be open to reason as to which standards are most appropriate and how they should be applied.
- Never yield to pressure in any of its forms: bribes, threats, manipulative appeals to trust, or refusal to change positions. Only yield to principle.
The Hard Stance in Negotiation
The hard stance sees negotiating as a contest of wills to be won against adversaries and thus demands one-sided gains.
Why Negotiation Matters Today
Everyone does some kind of negotiation every day. The need for negotiations is growing because levels of conflict are increasing. The need for negotiations is growing because people demand to participate more in the decisions that affect their lives. Due to urbanization and migration, individuals and groups are both more aligned and more in contact with each other and therefore need to negotiate more often with each other.
Managing Interests and Emotions in Negotiation
Every negotiator has two kinds of interests: the substance or content, and the relationship. It is important to separate these two in order to obtain the optimum result. Perceptions are the key issue. Ultimately, the conflict lies not in the objects of the conflict but in people’s heads. Understand the other party. Do not deduce their intentions from your fears. Do not blame them for your problem. Discuss perceptions. Make sure they participate in the process by involving them. Make your proposals consistent with their values. Deal with emotions. Recognize your and their emotions. Make them explicit and acknowledge them as legitimate. Allow the other side to let off steam. Do not react to emotional outbursts. Use symbolic gestures to produce positive emotional impact. Also, communicate effectively by using active listening.