Negotiation Strat, Eg Ies: Damona G. Doye
Negotiation Strat, Eg Ies: Damona G. Doye
Damona G. Doye
Extension Economist Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Fact Sheets
are also available on our website at:
Ross O. Love http:// os ufacts.o kstate.ed u
Extension Economist
Tracy R. Hyer
Former Extension Assistant conflicts using principled negotiation. This method of nego-
tiation is described in the best-selling book, Getting to Yes:
Negotiation: "To confer with another person so as to arrive at Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In by Roger Fisher and
a settlement of some matter; also to arrange for or bring about William Ury. In general, recommended steps for successful
such conferences" (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). negotiation are:
1. Separate the people from the problem.
Like it or not, you are a negotiator. Whether in family or 2. Focus on interests, not positions.
business dealings, people reach many decisions through 3. Invent options for mutual gain, that is work together to
negotiation. You haggle with the cattle buyer for an acceptable create options that will satisfy both parties.
price for your steers. You discuss with farm help the wages 4. Insist on using objective criteria for judging a proposed
you are willing to pay them and the quality of work you expect solution.
in return. You dicker with the equipment salesman for a new Whether you are analyzing a stressful situation, planning
piece of machinery. And you negotiate the terms of your latest a negotiation or discussing options, you will want to consider
operating note with your lender. Negotiation is a fact of life. these four points.
Most people know of only two ways to negotiate, either soft
or hard. The soft negotiator wants to keep peace and readily
makes concessions to avoid or resolve conflicts. The hard Separating the People from the Problem
negotiator sees conflict as a battle in which the person who Everyone knows how hard it is to deal with a problem
takes the most extreme position and holds out fares better. without people misunderstanding each other, gelling angry or
The soft negotiator may end up feeling used and abused; the upset and taking things personally. Negotiating resolutions may
hard negotiator may exhaust himself and damage or destroy be easier if you remember the "other side" is a human being
the personal relationship with the other party. Typical strate- with emotions, deeply held values, a different background
gies for negotiation often leave people dissatisfied, worn out, and viewpoints and is, like you, somewhat unpredictable.
or hostile and perhaps all three. In negotiation, the "people problem" often causes the
The most commOn form of negotiating-positional relationship to become entangled in discussion of the problem.
bargaining-depends On successive taking and giving up of Personality differences may cause conflicts unrelated to a
positions (imagine two people haggling over the price of an business problem. Dealing with a problem and maintaining a
item). Although positional bargaining can be successful, it is good working relationship need not be conflicting goals. But,
not necessarily efficient and may not result in a peaceable the negotiating parties must be committed and psychologically
solution. Negotiators may lock into positions, becoming more prepared to treat the relationship and problem separately. You
committed to the position than to the underlying Concerns or can be prepared by anticipating potential "people problems"
original interests of either party. Eventually they may feel that of three kinds: perception, emotion, and communication. And,
compromise will result in losing face. remember you have to deal with your Own as well as their
Positional bargaining also creates incentives that stall people problems.
settlement-individuals may take extreme positions, stub-
bornly hold to them, drag their feet, threaten to walk out, Perception
try to deceive the other party, and so On. Rather than jointly
Don't confuse your perceptions with reality and don't
attempting to produce an acceptable solution, positional
deduce the other side's intentions from your fears. The farmer
bargaining becomes a battle. Any agreement reached may
who gets a notice from a lender requesting additional financial
reflect splitting of differences, rather than careful and creative
statements may jump to the conclusion that an adverse deci-
development of a mutually beneficial solution.
sion is imminent. In fact, bank examiners may be requiring
What is the best way for people to deal with their differ-
the lender to increase loan documentation. The request for
ences? This fact sheet summarizes one possible step-by-step
additional financial information may have been sent to all
strategy for coming to mutually acceptable agreements in
bank customers with outstanding loans.
Put yourself in the other party's shoes, Each side in a to recover the cost of the equipment, interest on borrowed
negotiation may see only the merits of its case and only the money, store overhead costs, salaries of salesperson, etc,
faults of the other side, The ability to see the situation as the The farmer and machinery dealer have compatible interests
other side sees it, as difficult as it may be, is one of the most - the farmer would like to have the drill and the machinery
important skills a negotiator can possess, Withhold judgement dealer would like to sell it. Conflicts may arise when terms of
while you "tryon" their views, They probably believe that their an exchange are discussed,
views are right as strongly as you believe yours are, Discuss Each side has multiple interests, The most powerful
each other's perceptions, For example, in negotiating a new interests are basic human needs: security, economic well-
lease agreement for cropland, you might say, "I felt that our being, a sense of belonging, recognition, and control over
previous arrangement for expense and crop sharing was fair. one's life, Identify the interests of all the parties involved in
Do you feel the same way?" the negotiation, Ask why, and then ask Why not? Make a list
Although blame is an easy trap to fall into, don't blame to sort various interests on each side, It helps to write them
them for your problem, no matter how tempting, Even if blam- down as they occur to you, Make your interests come alive-
ing is justified, it is usually counterproductive, The other side be specific, Concrete details n?t only make your interests
becomes defensive and will stop listening or begin a counter credible, they also add impactl Do not however imply that
attack, Give them a stake in the outcome of the negotiation the other side's interests are unimportant or illegitimate,
by making sure they participate in the process, Acknowledge their interests as part of the problem, If
Make your proposals consistent with the other side's you want the other side to appreciate your interests, begin
values, Often in negotiation, people hold out not because a by demonstrating that you appreciate theirs, Do unto others
proposal is unacceptable, but simply because they want to as you would have them do untGyou, If you want someone to
avoid the appearance of backing down, If a proposal can be listen to and understand your reasoning, give your interests
presented so that it seems a fair outcome, they may accept and reasoning first and your conclusions or proposals later,
~, j Be concrete but flexible, Begin your negotiation with well
thought out interests and options, but keep an open mind,
Be hard on the problem, soft on the people, Spend your
Emotion
aggressive energy focusing on the problem, looking forward,
Feelings may be more important than talk, particularly in not back, Two negotiators, each pushing hard fortheirinterests,
a bitter dispute, Recognize and understand emotions, both often stimulate each other's creativity in developing mutually
theirs and yours, Make emotions explicit-talk about them-and advantageous solutions,
acknowledge them as legitimate, Allow the other side to let off
steam, if need be, It may make it easier to talk rationally later.
Listen quietly without responding to attacks and encourage Invent Options for Mutual Gain
the speaker to continue until he or she has said everything Skill at inventing options is one of the most useful assets
he/she wants to say, Don't react to emotional outbursts, as it a negotiator can have, but it does not come naturally. Practi-
may lead to arguments which hinder negotiations, cal negotiation appears to call for practical thinking, not wild
ideas, Four obstacles often inhibit consideration of multiple
options: premature judgement, searching for a single answer,
Communication
the assumption of a "fixed pie", and thinking that "solving
Without communication, there is no negotiation, Listen their problem is their problem", By focusing on a single best
actively and acknowledge what is being said, Listening en- answer too early or taking sides, you are likely to short circuit
ables you to understand their perception, feel their emotions, a wiser decision-making process in which you select from a
and hear what they are trying to say, Ask the other party to large number of possible answers, How do you get around
spell out exactly what they mean or repeat ideas if they are these obstacles to develop creative options? You need to:
unclear to you, For instance, if you have wheat pasture and 1, Separate the act of inventing options from the act of
are thinking about leasing it to a stocker operator, the cattle- judging them,
man may ask if you have a receiving program available, You 2, Broaden the options on the table rather than look for a
might need to ask him to define a receiving program or list single answer.
the options (holding, feeding, vaccinating, etc,) he or she 3, Invent ways of making their decision easy,
considers essential. Active listening improves not only what
you hear but what they say,
Talk to the other side-a negotiation is not a debate! Speak Separate Inventing from Deciding
about yourself, not about them, Describe a problem in terms Separate the creative act from the critical one; in other
of its impact on you rather than in terms of what they did, words, separate the process of thinking up possible decisions
For example, say "I feel let down" instead of "You broke your from the process of selecting among them. Invent first, decide
word", Speak with purpose and make every word count. later. A brainstorming session is the next required step, A
brainstorming session with a few friends and colleagues should
produce as many ideas as possible to solve the problem at
Focus on Interests, Not Positions
hand,
For a wise and fair solution, reconcile interests not posi- Although more difficult than brainstorming with your own
tions, Behind opposed positions lie shared and compatible side, brainstorming with people from the other side can prove
interests as well as conflicting ones, A farmer trying to buy a extremely valuable, Perhaps the farm landlord and tenant
drill needs it to get in the wheat crop and generate income, could discuss what they've heard about allocating respon-
The machinery dealer has an investment in the drill and needs sibilities differently, so that both end up better off, To protect
yourself when brainstorming with the other side, distinguish and expenses when due. The values for expected receipts
the brainstorming session explicitly from a negotiating session and expenses should be agreeable to both sides. The more
where people state official views and speak on the record. standards of fairness, efficiency or scientific merit you bring
to bear on your particular problem the more likely you are to
produce a final package that is wise and fair.
Broaden Your Options
Other examples of objective criteria include basing deci-
Even with the best of intentions, participants in a brain- sions on standards such as market value, precedent, what
storming session are likely to operate on the assumption that a court would decide, equal treatment, efficiency, etc. For
they are really looking for the one best answer. At this stage example, when negotiating the price of a piece of farm land
however it is good to come up with several options thus pro- an appraisal often serves as an objective criteria from which
viding room within which to negotiate. the real estate agent and client (potential purchaser) can
Another way to generate mUltiple options is to examine negotiate an acceptable price.
your problem from the perspective of different professions Objective criteria should apply at least in theory to both
and disciplines that can offer unique insight into the situation. sides. You can use the test of reciprocal application to tell
For example in the farm family/creditor discussions, it may whether a proposed criterion is fair and independent of either
be helpful to seek the advice of trained specialists to act as a party's will. For example, if the real estate agent selling you
third party to provide options for the two parties to considet'. the farm land offers you a standard form contract, you would
be wise to ask if that is the same standard they would use if
Look For Mutual Gain they were buying farm land or property.
Shared interests may not be immediately obvious, but Remember, no matter how good you feel about the ob-
look for them. Ask yourself: Do we have a shared interest in jective criteria you have come up with you must come to the
preserving the relationship? What opportunities lie ahead for table with an open mind. Frame each issue as a joint search
cooperation and mutual benefit? What costs would we bear if for objective criteria. To encourage a team approach, ask the
negotiations broke off? Shared interests should be looked at other person for their theory <srrationale. Reason and be open
as opportunities. Stressing your shared interests should make to reason.
the negotiation smoother and more peaceable. One way to
come to a mutually acceptable agreement is to invent several Summary and Conclusions
options all equally acceptable to you and ask the other sicle The four positions of principled negotiation-separate the
which one they prefer. You want to know which is preferable, people from the problem, focus on interests rather than posi-
not necessarily what is acceptable. You can then take that op- tions, generate a variety of options before deciding what to do,
tion, work with it some more and present additional variations. and base the result on some objective standard-are relevant
Thus, you can improve a plan until you can find no more joint from the time you begin to think about negotiating until an
gains. agreement is reached or you decide to abandon the effort.
Since success for you in negotiation depends upon the A negotiation is successful if it is efficient, produces a wise
other side's making a decision you want, you should do what agreement when agreement is possible, and improves or at
you can to make that decision an easy one. Avoid being too least does not harm the relationship between the negotiating
impressed with your own case, especially if you neglect the parties, In contrast to positional bargaining, principled nego-
interests of the other side in the process. To overcome the tiation permits you to work with another person as a team in
short sightedness that results from looking too narrowly at a search for a solution. And, separating the people from the
one's immediate self-interest, put yourself in their shoes. Look problem allows you to deal directly and compassionately with
for precedents in other negoitations that might shed light on other negotiators as human beings.
or support your case. Building a relationship of trust, understanding, respect
and friendship can make later negotiations smoother. Base
Using Objective Criteria the relationship on accurate perceptions, clear communication,
Negotiate on the basis of objective criteria. An objective appropriate emotions, and a forward looking outlook.
criteria is independent of the will of either side. Suppose for Trying to focus on the basic interests of each side, rather
example your lender informs you that your operating note will than on "winning" or "losing" will likely produce more efficient
not be renewed this year. You explain, calmly, as many reasor,s results. Keeping an open mind yet being well prepared pro-
as you can think of "off the top of your head" why you belie'ie vides an opportunity to invent options which could serve the
he/she should renew your operating note. What may develop interests of both sides and speed up the negotiation.
is a contest of wills. Using objective criteria moves the contest
away from individual wills and focuses on specific, objective Italicized sections of this OSU Facts were taken from the book
decision-criterion that are mutually agreeable. It helps produce "Getting to Yes" by Roger Fisher and William Ury.
amicable and efficient negotiations.
The first step in developing objective decision criteria is OHler Fact Sheets in the Series:
to discuss with the other party possible "fair" standards and AGEC-193 Monitoring Your Farm Financial Situation
procedures. Decide on exactly what objective criteria are mutu- AGEC-194 Taking Charge in Stressful Times
ally acceptable and establish checks to ensure that criteria to AG EC-1 97 Coping with Restructuring or Loss of the Farm
satisfy the agreed upon objective is met. Let's say that in the AGEC-196 Finding a New Career
borrower/lender dispute, the mutually agreed upon criteria is AGEC-202 Evaluating Options for Change
a realistic cash flow plan indicating the ability to pay all debt
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