The Pinnacle of Successful Negotiation.
When all parties involved in a negotiation walk away in a better position then when they arrived, and when the terms agreed upon are better for each than they would have accepted as their bottom line, you have successfully completed a winning negotiation. Additionally, this archetype leads to long term goodwill amongst the parties, and, more often than not, to future collaboration. At least, that’s been my experience, and the ideal of success I’ve set out as my goal as a negotiator. An agreement I negotiated was signed today by both parties, and I believe serves as an example of the pinnacle of negotiation success.
(Re)Framing the Paradigm.
The agreement signed today sealed a new strategic partnership between HRSentry and JobsInTheUS. What started as a discussion between like-minded parties, quickly blossomed into a shared vision of potential mutual benefits. While the most important factors that lead to the consummation of this deal were the like-mindedness of the parties involved, and the clarity of the shared vision, the point that I will store in my memory, was the need to re-frame the paradigm to find a common ground for the terms.
Though initially we both felt very confident about our ability to work together, we later found that we were quite far apart on the stipulations we would require. At one point, this chasm appeared to be wide enough to either suspend or possibly terminate the negotiation. Each of us had an excellent argument for our side, and we both felt we did not want to degrade the value of our interest in the relationship. I can now admit out loud that I really, really wanted to make this work. I believe strongly in the long term value of this affiliation, and am excited by how well their service aligns with my company’s mission and vision. At the same time, however, I had to ensure that financially this would be worth the level of engagement we would need to provide.
Peace and Quiet Through Low-Tech.
I was attending a conference during the negotiation, and had been acutely tuned in to my Blackberry, monitoring the desires and concerns of both my General Manager and the folks at HR Sentry. Further delay at this time, I felt, would show a lack of commitment and engagement to HR Sentry that I was unwilling to risk. Between sessions at the conference, I went to my hotel room, turned off my phone, shut down my laptop, and pulled out a pad of hotel stationery and a pen. I began drawing diagrams, scribbling notes, and recording my stream of consciousness. Through this exercise, it occurred to me that at it’s core, the crux of this issue was very similar to a model I had used when working for a travel broker over a decade ago. From this realization, I re-framed the paradigm and offered a completely new solution, which was subsequently accepted.
At the beginning of any negotiation, particularly when in regard to strategic partnerships, alliances, or collaboration, it’s natural to conceptualize the entire process in advance, based on previous experience and your knowledge of what’s most likely to occur. This can be dangerous. When you think you know the answer to a question, it affects not only how you ask it, but also how you hear the response. As Deepak Chopra would say, we mustn’t become slaves of our own experience, but rather stay open to infinite possibilities. One way to do this in the negotiation process is to actively re-frame your paradigm, in search of new solutions.
Categories: Business & Economy, JobsInTheUS
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[...] In a previous post, I outlined a key to the negotiation with HRSentry, and shared what I believed were some key considerations that came from that process. But that was only the beginning. As a professional with more than15 years in the business development arena, I know the perils that befall those who focus their attention on “the deal”, then lose momentum or interest once the pen has been put to paper. While the agreements were signed previously, the real work began on September 28, the day we had HRSentry lead a web conference to our sales, marketing, and customer service staff. That day represented the beginning of building engagement and buy-in internally to support this new service. [...]
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