Tactical Orientation Analysis

Are you surprised at where you ended up on the continuum? How about the other side? If so, look back at the questions to see which items you assigned a 0 or a minus number. Ask yourself:

In which zone (i.e., win-win, adversarial, or neutral) am I?

In which zone (i.e., win-win, adversarial, or neutral) are they?

Determine if changing any of these items would enhance the negotiation. If you discovered that the other party did not trust you, what are some gestures or behaviors that you could exhibit to prove trustworthy to the other side? Perhaps, disclosing some in-depth information about your needs could work to build trust.

If you are under time pressure, what can you do to relieve it? Many union negotiations have a midnight strike deadline to put pressure on both sides to reach an agreement. Sometimes, negotiators will literally stop the clock; in one instance, by pulling the plug from the wall. In terms of a win-win outcome, how could you go beyond just the issues on the table to expand the pie so that a win is possible for both sides? Consider the loan processing case from Chapter 2 where the director of loan processing agreed to serve as an advocate for the IT department in the next budget round.

Finally, if a long-term relationship is important to you but not necessarily important to the other side, what can you do to enhance the importance of the relationship to them? Think about it from their perspective. What could you do so that they need you as much as you need them? How about serving as a reference for them to other customers? Or providing them with referrals? When dealing with a car dealership, offer to return to them each time you need to buy a new car. This works as a win-win since you get a better buying experience and perhaps a better price, and they get a quality used car as your trade-in and another sale. Offer to bring your friends and family. Ask for a specific salesperson. As one car salesman, put it “Make a friend and sell a car.”

How does placing yourself and the other side on the tactical orientation continuum help determine how you and they will act in the negotiation? Below are some suggested actions for each zone:

Win-Win Zone Actions

• Use win-win or cooperative tactics exclusively.

• Work hard to identify and satisfy their needs as well as my own.

• Disclose information in an open manner.

• Trust the information they share with me.

Adversarial Zone Actions

• Watch for adversarial tactics by the other side.

• Use win-win tactics to counter.

• Be careful to ensure that any concessions do not undermine my needs.

• Disclose little information unless reciprocated.

• Verify the information they share with me.

Neutral Zone Actions

• Use win-win or cooperative tactics to set the tone.

• Watch for signs of adversarial tactics.

• Disclose information in a limited manner; ask for reciprocity.

• Trust the information they share with me to some extent.