432 / DEVELOPING YOUR TECHNIQUE
Dealing with many parties
Balancing complex issues
Multiparty negotiations are in many
ways similar to two-party situations but
require a wider set of skills to deal with
their additional complexities, which
include those listed here:
Many business partnerships or deals involve agreements between three
or more different parties, each with its own positions, needs, and goals.
Negotiating in this environment requires dexterity and a constant eye
on the pitfalls, such as coalitions between the parties opposing you.
Social complexity With more
negotiators involved, the social
context becomes complex. In a
two-party negotiation, your focus
is on one individual, but multiparty
negotiations require you to
understand, analyze, and build
relationships with each negotiator.
You must learn to resist social
pressure and protect your interests,
even when faced by a coalition of
parties in the negotiation.
Emotional complexity Negotiating
in a multiparty context can be
very taxing. Hold your emotions
in check; emotional distress often
results in poor decisions.
Strategic complexity Multiple
parties have many interests,
and often conflicts of interest,
between them. Each party has
its BATNA (Best Alternative
To a Negotiated Agreement),
which may change as alliances
are formed. To be well prepared
for a multiparty negotiation,
you will need to constantly
reassess both your own and
your counterparts’ BATNAs.
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DEALING WITH MANY PARTIES / 433
Case study
CHAIRING MULTIPARTY
TALKS
The central challenge for the Chair
of a meeting is to gain the trust of
the negotiating parties. Former
Senator George J. Mitchell, US
Senate Majority Leader, stated that
in mediating the dispute in
Northern Ireland, his ability to be
effective ultimately depended more
on gaining the delegates’ trust and
confidence than on his formal role
and authority. The Chair should
be clear about his or her role,
introduce the agenda, introduce
ground rules, provide parties
with opportunities to express
themselves, and distill common
interests. The Chair should
also regularly summarize the
progress that has been made
in the negotiation.
Forming or joining coalitions
Resisting group pressure to
modify your core interests
Being clear when you disagree
Monitoring the positions of all
the parties
Insisting on acting independently
Settling too easily when faced by
a coalition
Keeping quiet: silence may be
interpreted as assent
Focusing on only one part of
the negotiations
SUCCEEDING IN MULTIPARTY NEGOTIATIONS
Do’s Don’ts
Informational complexity
The number of parties involved
produces multiple exchanges of
information, proposals, and
multiple trade-offs. You need to
develop a solid information system
that can record and recall all the
information exchanged in the
negotiation room.
Procedural complexity The design
of the negotiation process may be
fraught with difficulty. Its structure,
the rules of engagement, selection
of venue, sequence of issues, and
how decisions will be made, must
be perceived to be fair. In high-value
negotiations, it is wise to employ
an expert to facilitate the process
more effectively.
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434 / DEVELOPING YOUR TECHNIQUE
Building winning coalitions
The moment there are more than two parties in a
negotiation, there are opportunities to make
coalitions. To protect your interests and remain in
the negotiating game, one of your major objectives
will be to think well in advance about offense (how to
build a winning coalition) as well as defense (how to
put together a blocking coalition).
When attempting to build a stable coalition, there
are three essential factors to consider. The first is
the issue of agreement. Some parties will agree and
others will disagree with your vision and the
strategies and tactics you plan to use to achieve it.
DIVIDE THE PIE
Make it clear to your
coalition partners
how the benefits—the
proverbial pie—will be
divided if you achieve
your goals. The division
certainly must be fair,
but fairness does not
necessarily mean an
equal share.
Tip
To build a coalition,
there are three
factors to consider
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DEALING WITH MANY PARTIES / 435
Gaining influence and trust
The second important factor to consider when
building a coalition is influence. Some potential
partners may be highly influential and can use
their positions of power to assist you in moving
your agenda forward, while others will be weak
and unable to help much. The third factor to
consider is trust. Coalitions are temporary entities
driven by self-interest, so partners are easily
seduced to defect once the payoffs elsewhere
become higher. Your main objective should be to
recruit potential partners who are trustworthy
and will remain loyal to the coalition.
GAIN POWER
Consider building
a coalition if you
think you hold
a weaker hand
than one of your
opponents. Being
part of a successful
coalition may help
you shift the balance
of power.
Tip
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436 / DEVELOPING YOUR TECHNIQUE
Recruiting coalition partners
When building a coalition, start by
identifying all stakeholders, both
supporters and opponents of your
objectives. Classify each one according
to their level of agreement (high,
medium, or low, on a scale from one
to 10), the degree of influence they
could bring to the coalition, and their
level of perceived trustworthiness.
First, approach your best potential
allies—the parties who agree with
your vision and agenda and are very
influential and trustworthy.
ASK YOURSELF…
YES NOAbout forming a coalition
1 Do you know your agenda for the negotiation and what
you are trying to achieve? .................................................................
2 Have you considered the main factors that you need to
consider in building your coalition? .................................................
3 Can you identify potential coalition partners that
are most likely to work with you to allow you to
fulfill your objectives jointly? ..........................................................
4 Should you sequence the recruitment of each
potential coalition partner? ............................................................
5 Do you know the best way to approach potential partners? ..........
First, approach
your best
potential allies
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