450 / DEVELOPING YOUR TECHNIQUE
Learning from the masters
Becoming a winning negotiator
Master negotiators have superior
negotiating capabilities in three major
areas: the ability to understand and
analyze issues (cognitive skills); the
ability to manage emotions, especially
negative ones (emotional skills); and
the ability to connect with others by
developing relationships and trust
(social skills). These are the areas
that you need to work on if you are to
hone your negotiating skills and work
toward becoming a master negotiator.
Irrespective of the field in which they practice their trade, be it business,
law, diplomacy, labor, or sports, master negotiators possess a unique
set of combined characteristics that clearly differentiate them from
common negotiators, and define their success. Every negotiator can
benefit by understanding the skills and attitudes of a master negotiator.
BAD DEALS
Master negotiators know that negotiations are not about making the deal
and signing the contract, but rather about diligently pursuing their
interests. No deal is better than a bad deal, so they condition themselves
mentally to walk away from the table if and when their interests are not
met. Inexperienced negotiators tend to be biased toward securing a deal
and often tend to stay at the table and get a poor deal. There are two
reasons for this: first, negotiators do not want to let go of the sunk costs
(expenses) involved in attempting to make the deal. Second, they do not
want to face the fact that it simply is not possible to make the deal and
thus feel that they have failed to produce results. Master negotiators, in
contrast, are willing to let go of the sunk costs and do not feel that they
have failed in the negotiation task if the deal does not go through.
In focus
Defining key attributes
Using masterful due
diligence Master negotiators
understand the dangers of
being poorly prepared, and
invest ample resources in
planning and gathering useful
information.
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LEARNING FROM THE MASTERS / 451
Being firm and flexible
Master negotiators are firm
and clear about the issues
they must have, and flexible
on the issues they would like
to have.
Thinking strategically
Negotiations are rarely a
one-on-one business, so master
negotiators spend time analyzing
the interests of the “players” who
are not at the table, how the
power balance lies, and what
opportunities exist to increase
their own power.
Seeing the other side Master
negotiators know that they can only
present a good offer or trade-off if
they know what their counterpart’s
interests are. They are able to easily
shift from seeing things from their
point of view to seeing things from
that of the other party.
Investing in relationships
Master negotiators use all
possible opportunities to
nurture trust and develop
relationships, and make sure
that those connections
remain intact over time.
Appreciating
uniqueness Master
negotiators approach
every situation afresh
and are always ready to
modify their practices
and adapt themselves to
the specific conditions of
any ongoing negotiation.
Managing emotions
Master negotiators
make an active choice
to always monitor and
constructively control
their emotions.
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