Negotiating on the Merits

The Basics of Principled Negotiations

What is negotiation?

“To confer with another so as to arrive at the settlement of some matter”

Webster’s New College Dictionary

What is negotiation?

Positional Bargaining

Positional Bargaining is how we usually think of negotiations.

Positional Bargaining

Positional Bargaining is how we usually think of negotiations.

Each side takes an adversarial position.

Positional Bargaining

Positional Bargaining is how we usually think of negotiations.

Each side takes an adversarial position.

Discussion is to decide how much each side gives in.

Positional Bargaining

Positional Bargaining is how we usually think of negotiations.

Each side takes an adversarial position.

Discussion is to decide how much each side gives in.

It assumes the value of the object changes by TALKING about it.

Positional Bargaining

Leads to misunderstandings and hard feeling.

Positional Bargaining

Leads to misunderstandings and hard feeling.

A slow and inefficient process.

Positional BargainingLeads to

misunderstandings and hard feeling.

A slow and inefficient process.

Makes future relationships difficult.

Positional Bargaining

To reach agreement, we think we have to chose between “Soft” or “Hard” bargaining.

Positional Bargaining

Negotiating on the Merits

A new way of thinking about negotiations

Negotiating on the Merits

People

Negotiating on the Merits

People Interests

Negotiating on the Merits

People Interests Options

Negotiating on the Merits

People Interests Options Criteria

Negotiating on the Merits

People Interests Options Criteria BATNA

Negotiating on the Merits

People Separate the

people from the problem.

Negotiating on the Merits

People Separate the

people from the problem.

Try to understand their side of the issue

Negotiating on the Merits

Interests Can you find

common ground

Negotiating on the Merits

Interests Can you find

common ground

Look for joint ways to solve problems

Negotiating on the Merits

Options Find new ways

to look at the problem.

Negotiating on the Merits

Options Find new ways

to look at the problem.

The more options you generate, the greater the likelihood that you will find a negotiated settlement.

Negotiating on the Merits

Criteria What is the standard

of fairness in a settlement?

Negotiating on the Merits

Criteria What is the standard of

fairness in a settlement?

Act on principle--never yield to pressure from the other side.

Negotiating on the Merits

BATNA Best Alternative

to a Negotiated Settlement

Negotiating on the Merits

BATNA Best Alternative

to a Negotiated Settlement

Know your bottom line, and when to walk away

Negotiating on the Merits

Makes you a winner!!!

You are a tour organizer and are expecting a tour group to come to town, You need transportation for the group. There are only two bus companies that have the necessary quality and reliability. The better of the two, Giant Tours, has always performed very well, but is often nearly twice the price of his competitor, Try-Harder Motor Coach. Try-Harder is okay, but you have had trouble with their drivers. They are often late, and you have had complaints about them getting lost. This has never happened with Giant, but your contact there, Mr. Snooty, is often arrogant and unpleasant. The manager at Try-Harder, Ms. Kindly, is friendly enough, but you often feel she doesn't really pay attention to what you want.

You need a 65 seat bus for two full days. Last time you paid $350 per day for unlimited use, but you heard that a competitor got the same bus for $275–from Try-Harder. The competitors, however, had the same problems with Try-Harder that you have had. You just received a written bid from Mr. Snooty for $475, and from Ms. Kindly for $395, but you know that both of these people think that "positional bargaining" is the only way to do business.

What are you going to do???

You just heard "through the grapevine" that your counterpart in the another section of your company, Mr. Uppity, has been in contact with a primary client of yours. You regularly meet with this client, Ms. Sellers, because she makes the purchasing decisions for her company. You are concerned that the Mr. Uppity’s contact is not productive, and will "overload" your relationship. Your contact in the other section also told you that Uppity is telling Ms. Sellers that he is the "real" contact in your company, and that your work is not as important as his. This has made you angry. In fact, it was you who introduced this client to Mr. Uppity in the first place. You think he is just jealous of your good relationship with Ms. Sellers, and is trying to undermine your work. You reported this to your supervisor, but she told you to solve it yourself.

What are you going to do???

You a management consultant, and just did a service for a client, Mr. Skinflint, of Skinflint Cork and Seal Co. He was looking for an agent for his bottle stoppers. His product was not very good in the first place, but he insisted using your facilitation services. You worked hard on it, and actually found three agents that still were selling cork bottle stoppers. On the company visits, Mr. Skinflint was unreasonable. He was inflexible with the agents, and even rude to one who suggested his prices were too high. He kept you overtime, and when the last meeting was over, he took the car back to his hotel and left you standing in the street, with no way home. Now he wants his money back, and has accused you of doing a poor job. He told your boss that the potential agents were not even selling corks, which, of course, is not true. They also said that YOU took the car home, and left Mr. Skinflint to fend for himself.

What are you going to do???