Finding the “win-win”
in us all!!
There is no doubt that the vast
majority of conflict, whether it is in the office or on the battlefield is
fuelled by misunderstanding and miscommunication between two or more parties.
Of course, one can assume that conflicting positions produce conflict but I
argue that the risk of escalation can be decreased and the probability of
resolution increased if all parties actively look to reconcile their interests
from the beginning through interest based negotiation.
Williams & Schneider in 1983
conducted a study on counter party negotiation techniques and found 4 different
clusters of negotiator existed. The negotiator clusters were classed as ethical
and unethical “adversarial” along with true and cautious “problem solving”. The
results were startling! The counterparty in the study when asked to evaluate
the style of the negotiator found the most effective negotiator to be “true
problem solving” (72%) which is taking a genuine interest in the position and
interests of the counter party and making a real effort to accommodate the
interests of the counter party whilst protecting their own. At
the bottom of the rankings was “unethical adversarial” (3%) which was defined
by an aggressive posture and unwillingness to budge from their “position”.
So what can collaboratively
engaging a counter party in a negotiation do for you? Seeking to understand
your counterparty position, their interests that lie behind it and how their
interests are impacted by your interests sets a negotiation on a more likely
trajectory to success.
A well executed
interest based negotiation technique can also:
Focus on best interests creating objective focus on best outcome,
and not subjective bias driven positioning which often leads to failure
Addresses unethical behaviour designed to achieve leverage such as
undercutting, non related blaming, discrediting, etc.
Un-fixes confrontational positioning by aggressive negotiators, thus becomes
directional to collaborative outcomes.
Create a dynamic approach thus increases
communication effectiveness and success probability through gaining best outcome for the
collaborative negotiator who is assertive in IBN.
To get the most out ‘IBN’, I
would submit the following be used as a process in any counter party
negotiation:
- Focus your Mind-set to be assertive yet collaborative. Clear your thoughts of unrelated issues and feelings, especially negative ones.
- Address all party aggression with assertion by opening with a position of confidence leading to your statement of interests, not your statement of position which should remain open and unfixed until you have a clear understanding of your counterparty’s interests.
- Identify your counter party misdirects by understanding their interest centre
- Openly reconcile your interests to your conterparty interests for feasibility, which leads to credible counterparty acceptance and debunks hostile positions in-conflict with it
- Be prepared to adjust your own “interest centre” if your own real interests are better served by such an adjustment.
- If other party aggression supersedes acceptable levels, remember to never waiver tone of voice, increase volume to reassert one-self into the negotiation. Only do so if you can redirect to best interests and not inset positioning. If best interests cannot be refocused on, adjorn the negotiation rather then escalate into aggression.
- When best interests are found which have being prioritized through the rationalization and comparison of all interests at the table, then a resolution can be agreed upon and documented including agreed follow ups.
- Follow up on post agreement implementation issues and resolve on the basis of best interests being served for all.
With the collaborative approach
to conflict resolution at any level in any environment, one can see how even
unethical adversarial positions can be moved through interest based negotiation
producing a “win-win” outcome. Concluding, I would suggest that in today’s
conflict ridden world, maybe its time to abandon “win-lose” outcomes in favour
of interest based negotiation which can bring all a better tomorrow in a manner,
which can heal the wounds of today.
Sources/Credits
Williams & Schneider Results: Forbes & Harv. Negot. Rev. 143
Interest Based Negotiation Chart: US Institute for
Environmental Conflict Resolution
Pics:
Excellent input on effective negotiating! Too bad so many still negotiate on a win/lose basis.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ed and I fully agree.. It is too bad that so many operate that way. IMHO, The win lose scenario is seen as the "winners play" when it is really a losers play over the longer term.
ReplyDeleteA great example of this was here in Dublin some time ago when the "Celtic Tiger" was at its peak and construction was fueling phonomenal economic growth. A major contractor got a development to build an office block which required marble panelling all the way up the front side of the building. They contractor was as single minded as he was agressive in negotiation and stubbornly pushed all subcontrators for this marble panelling down to below cost and what the client allowed for it in a nickle and dime to pocket the difference. They all droped out bar one whom stuck out the negotiation but could not move the main contractor on price. The sub contractor foolishly agreed the deal on a job that sucked up all their liquidity and made them bankrupt thanks to the artificially low price the main contractor pushed them into with his win lose approach to negotiation. What the main contractor didnt factor into his approach was the lead time to the subcontractor going broke as he stoped worked half way through a multi story panelling of the front facia side of the office block and the main contractor could not finish the job as the marble panels could not be sourced anyway as nobody trusted him in business. He ended up loosing millions on the job due to cost overruns, price hiked raw materials and getting the same as a shark.