Chapter 2: A Versatile Frame of Mind docx

Chapter 2
A Versatile Frame of Mind

Outline

Approaches to Negotiation
•
Distributive negotiation
•
Integrative negotiation

Dangers of Assumptions
•
Importance of sensemaking
•
Identifying rules of engagement

Use of Questions

Awareness of the Environment

Importance of Language

Identifying “Moves” of Interaction

Negotiation Continuum
Dis tributive
Ne gotiatio ns
Integrative
Ne gotiatio ns
Ve rs atile

Ne gotiatio ns
Des ire to WIN
Achieve
Mutual Gain

Which approach is best?

Those using cooperative strategies
achieve high mutual gain

Those relying on competitive strategies
achieve less

Thus, negotiators should focus mainly
on establishing cooperation

Which approach is best?

Negotiators who believe they have influence,
assume a position of strength and hold firm
on issues of importance

Those who believe they have little influence
are more likely to make greater concessions

Thus, a cooperative, win-win approach is
generally useful but a negotiator must also
identify how much they are willing to
concede in order to achieve the win-win

The Versatile Negotiator

Adopt a flexible negotiating approach – moving
toward an integrative or distributive stance when
necessary

Prioritizes goals in order to protect the most
important points but make appropriate concessions

Not committed to a win-win or win-lose

Win-win is preferable but sometimes will engage in a
win-lose in order to achieve goals

Does not measure their progress in comparison to
some endpoint but stay focused in their next move
and how it will affect each subsequent move

Avoid Assumptions

Be careful in making faulty assumptions
•
Myth of commonality
•
We assume people are like us
•
Myth of disparity
•
We assume others are different from us


Skilled negotiator is a detective –
skeptical of easy generalizations & alert
to limitations of assumptions

Sensemaking

Balance between observation and
action

Staying in touch with context

Sensemakers “act their way into an
understanding of where they are, who
they are and what they are doing.”

Rules of Engagement

Knowledge of one’s expectations
guiding choices

Negotiations make sense when the
dialogue is bounded by what is
expected

Failure to meet expectations may lead
to perceptions of irrelevance or
offensiveness

Identifying Expectations


Use of Questions
•
Critical in identifying assumptions &
expectations
•
Assist in ensuring understanding – possible
discrepancy between what was said and
what was heard
•
Useful in testing the progression of
negotiations
•
Involves the other party more in the
discussion

SPIN Questioning
SITUATION
PROBLEM
IMPLICATION
NEED
What
supplier
are you
currently
using?
What
supplier
are you
currently
using?

How satisfied have you
been with your
supplier’s ability to
meet your needs for
“emergency shipments?
How satisfied have you
been with your
supplier’s ability to
meet your needs for
“emergency shipments?
How have you been
affected by their
inability to meet your
emergency inventory
levels?
How have you been
affected by their
inability to meet your
emergency inventory
levels?
If we guaranteed next day delivery
on specific products, would you be
interested in learning more about
our capabilities?
If we guaranteed next day delivery
on specific products, would you be
interested in learning more about
our capabilities?
Adapted from SPIN Selling by Neil Rackham

Negotiation as a Learning Process

Importance of a learning perspective

Enables negotiator to understand the
other party

Versatility in Actions

Repertoire of verbal and non-verbal
responses

Communication in negotiations like a
game of chess
•
More skillful players influence the other
player to make a desired move
•
Amateurs are easily led and react to the
moves of others – leading to greater
chances for concessions

Knowledge of scripts

Direction of Interaction

One-up moves
•
When both use one-up statements, the
interaction is competitive


One-down moves
•
When both use one-down statements, very
little progression is achieved

Sidestep moves or one-across moves
•
Useful in negotiations because they buy
you time and give you a chance to think
about how to proceed (e.g. silence, I see)

Summary

Best negotiators less concerned with
who’s right

But…concerned about who thinks what
and why

They mold perception and are masters
of discernment

Do not use firm statements of positions
but questions designed to understand
assumptions