Negotiation Training
People are bad negotiators. They leave money on the table, passing up deals that can benefit both sides. Worse, most think themselves as good to decent negotiators. They are wrong.
How do we know that people are bad negotiators? For more than 30 years, theorists have been devising little bargaining puzzles. In these very simple problems, people routinely leave money on the table. Routinely fail to make the best possible deal.
Why? There are many types of answers, and my expertise is looking at how people failed to manage the process of both expanding the pie, creating value, and demanding their fair share of the pie, claiming value because they failed to comprehend their strategic position.
The process of managing or mismanaging the creating/claiming value process has been extensively studied, starting in the 60's with Walton and McKersie's A Behavioral Theory of Labor Negotiations.
One explanation of why people are bad negotiators, something Bob Mnookin stresses, is that people often look past their interests in common and go directly to undue focus on adverse interests.
We have all heard the term "win win", but what does it really mean? Bob Mnookin talks about the Program on Negotiation, an executive training program at Harvard.
"When you're mired in a dispute, it's natural to focus on differences.
But negotiation experts at Harvard University suggest looking for hidden similarities instead.
Identifying shared interests that aren't competitive can pave the way to a solution that benefits all parties, Harvard authorities recommend.
The Harvard Program on Negotiation specializes in win-win solutions to disputes, even ones the parties have written off as intractable.
Success is all in the mindset, Harvard experts say.
Rather than viewing the matter as an "intractable" dispute, view it as a business deal - then pursue it as you would a deal, looking for ways to create value."
Here is a real life example of focusing on shared values, or common interests, The Postal Service versus the United States Postal Service
Take the case of The Postal Service — the musical group, that is. This electro-pop duo saw its career take off in 2003 with release of its first album, “Give Up,” which sold more than 400,000 copies. Two singles — “Such Great Heights” and “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight” — were getting airplay too. For Jimmy Tamborello and Ben Gibbard, life was good … until the actual Postal Service, also known as United States Postal Services (USPS), entered their lives.
USPS served them with a cease-and-desist letter alleging trademark infringement. The agency was concerned that the musical group was diluting its trademarked brand by calling itself “The Postal Service.”
How might two young musicians go about taking on one of the largest enterprises on the globe?
They could hire high-priced lawyers and dig in for a battle that could drag on for years and cost many millions of dollars … a battle they might lose.
Or they could roll over and give up … and then they would lose.
Or they could negotiate the Harvard way and search for interests that both “The Postal Service” and the Postal Service shared.
Negotiate they did. The Internet and e-mail have cost USPS dearly, especially among the young who listen to indie-pop bands, Tamborello and Gibbard pointed out. But if they were allowed to keep using their name, they would put the USPS trademark notice on their albums, promote the use of USPS among their fans, and even perform at an annual USPS event.
More effective communication, in my opinion, is the critical skill set that Independent Franchisee Associations (IndFAs) have to obtain in order effectively collaborate with the franchisor. Mnookin , and the entire PON program, has an emphasis on managing the tension between creating and claiming value, or what he calls an undue focus on distributive bargaining.
Mnookin describes the seminar as a practical learning, complete with training and practical applications.
One thing not made clear in this short video, is the range of techniques for dealing with those interests that are different and not shared.
But the overall emphasis on focusing on disputes as business deals before they become litigation files is an important emphasis.
It will require different types of skills than transactional or trial lawyers typically have. Bargaining in the shadow of franchising law and contract requires more than simply an understanding of legal cases.
The Program on Negotiation has a website, and there are a number of interesting free resources about effective communication and negotiation. Sign up at the site and get negotiation tips by email.
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