Negotiations Six Steps to Success

by Walker, Michael L.; Harris, George L.

• ISBN13: 9780131255920
• ISBN10: 0131255924
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1995-06-16
• Publisher: Prentice Hall

Summary

This book provides a step-by-step approach to successful negotiations.Many people view negotiations as a complex, daunting process, full of surprises. Based on more than 25 years of training negotiators in the U.S. and abroad, the authors say it doesn't have to be that way. The secret is to carefully structure the entire process. Negotiation: Six Steps to Success shows how to enter a negotiation well positioned to succeed, by analyzing the situation in advance, and building a plan that reflects reality. The authors then present clear guidelines for evolving a plan during the course of negotiation, so the negotiator stays in control and can successfully achieve the desired results. Case studies are used throughout the book, which offers a unique and needed counterpoint to the mythology and folklore that all too often surround the process of negotiation.Anyone who negotiates -- in either professional or personal contexts.

Table of Contents

Toward A Process View of Negotiations	1	(12)
Put Yourself in This Position	1	(1)
Some Common Perceptions	2	(2)
Need For a Structured Approach	4	(1)
Adopting a New Paradigm	5	(1)
Examples of Paradigms in Negotiations	6	(5)
Why These Paradigms Must Change	11	(1)
Why This Book?	11	(2)
The Case for a Systematic Negotiating Process	13	(28)
Petrie Stores Sale to Employees	14	(1)
Conflict in Bosnia	14	(1)
Prudential Entry into the Mutual Funds Business	15	(1)
Some Essentially Completed Negotiations	16	(5)
TCI-Bell Atlantic	16	(2)
U.S.---Japan Trade	18	(2)
Iranian Hostages	20	(1)
Need for a Process	21	(2)
Step 1: Analyzing the Negotiation Situation: The Importance of Issue Definition and Environmental Factors	23	(1)
GE Vs. Unions	23	(1)
Reagan vs. PATCO	24	(1)
Step 2: Planning for the Upcoming Negotiations: Establish Common Objectives for the Negotiations	25	(2)
Step 3: Organizing for Effective Negotiations	27	(1)
Strategic Considerations	27	(4)
Why a Step-By-Step Process Helps	31	(1)
The Crucial Role of Negotiation Planning	32	(2)
Step 4: Gaining and Taking Control	34	(1)
Step 5: Closing Negotiations	35	(3)
Step 6: Continuous Improvement	38	(3)
Getting Ready: Analyzing the Negotiation Situation	41	(14)
Introduction	41	(1)
Considering the Negotiation Environment	42	(5)
Business-to-Business Negotiations:	47	(1)
Personal Negotiation:	47	(1)
Government-to-Government:	47	(1)
Strategic Concerns	48	(1)
Determining Needs	49	(1)
Priorities	50	(2)
Identifying Constraints	52	(3)
Getting Ready: Planning for the Upcoming Negotiations	55	(16)
Establishing Goals	58	(1)
Example/Application	59	(1)
Exercise	60	(1)
Establishing Objectives	61	(3)
Identifying and Including Stakeholders	64	(2)
Strategic Approaches	66	(3)
Planning for Negotiating Within Teams	69	(2)
Getting Ready---Organizing for Effective Negotiation	71	(18)
Staffing the Negotiation Team	71	(2)
Developing a Game Plan	73	(6)
Agenda	75	(4)
Insuring the Completeness and Currency of the Plan	79	(6)
Testing the Validity of the Plan	81	(1)
Testing the Plan: Two-Person Limited Focus Negotiation	81	(1)
Testing the Plan: Large-Scale Team Negotiations	82	(3)
Adjusting the Plan	85	(1)
Be Ready for Surprises	85	(4)
Getting it Done: Gaining and Maintaining Control	89	(22)
Gaining Control	90	(5)
The Role of Agendas in Maintaining Control	94	(1)
You Set the Agenda With Their Help	95	(3)
Regaining Control---An Example	98	(1)
Reaching Consensus	99	(2)
Consensus Building---An Example	101	(1)
Resolving Conflict Through Communication	102	(2)
Negotiating in a High-Tech Environment	104	(7)
The Process	104	(1)
The Options	105	(1)
The Tactics	106	(2)
Conclusion	108	(3)
Getting it Done: Closing Negotiations	111	(20)
Dealing with Objections	112	(1)
Uncovering the Root Cause	113	(1)
The Importance of Attitude	113	(2)
Turning Objections into Agreements	115	(4)
Breakthrougths Thinking	119	(1)
Making Breakthroughs Happen	119	(3)
Selling	120	(1)
Leases	120	(1)
Labor Disputes	120	(1)
Government-to-Government	121	(1)
Personal Considerations	122	(1)
Brainstorming Alternatives	123	(1)
Dealbreakers	123	(4)
Assessing the Level of Support for a Proposed Solution	127	(1)
Packaging the Details of the Negotiation	127	(4)
Getting it Done: Continuous Improvement-Techniques to Improve Negotiation Performance	131	(14)
Review the process	133	(1)
Talk With Customers	134	(2)
Measuring Your Negotiation Results	136	(1)
Evaluate Extent of Negotiation Empowerment	137	(1)
Establishing the Baseline: Applying the Tools	138	(1)
ISO-9000 Negotiations: Between Buyers and Sellers	139	(6)
Using the Six-Step Approach	145	(12)
Negotiation Situation Data	146	(11)
Analyzing the Negotiation Situation	146	(2)
Planning for the Upcoming Negotiations	148	(1)
Organizing for Effective Negotiations	149	(2)
Taking Control	151	(1)
Closing Negotiations	152	(2)
Continuous Improvement	154	(3)
Appendix A	157	(4)
Appendix B	161	(22)
Bibliography	183

Excerpts

This book offers a simple, systematic approach to a subject that can be complex, daunting, and full of surprises-the art and technique of negotiation. While we are often aware of and impressed by the celebrated negotiators of the world; government representatives, athletes, or entertainers; all of us are called upon at some point to pick up the gauntlet and attempt to settle a difference by amiable discussion. Our ability to negotiate competently affects every aspect of our life and work; the prices we pay for capital purchases and real estate, the procurement of loans, career moves, and the happiness of the people around us. So why have we overlooked deve loping this skill and why do we have such difficulty negotiating? We, the authors, believe that individuals lack a dependable and effective process to accomplish negotiations. We wrote this book to provide such a process to anyone who wishes to negotiate anything. We recognized a need for simplifying what seems to many to be a complex and often intimidating process. We thus separated the negotiating process into six manageable phases which, if followed carefully, will lead to successful resolution of dispute. The model we have developed can be used as a skeleton for analyzing and planning the simplest negotiation or as a structure on which to build a plan for the most complex, team-bargaining session. Our model covers the spectrum of activity from preliminary planning to negotiation discussion to post-agreement and continuous improvement efforts. We believe that our six step approach provides the individual with the opportunity to refine his or he r negotiating skills, regardless of negotiation history. One advantage of our model is that it divides pre-negotiation planning into three distinct steps. The first step concentrates on the strategic goals of the negotiation. The near-term or tactical objective is determined in the second step. In the thir d step, detailed plans and agendas are developed. The remaining three steps lead one through the actual negotiation phase. They concern gaining and maintaining control, closing negotiations, and continuous improvement techniques for reviewing perform ance. The most important benefit of this six step approach is that it provides the negotiator with a clear and definite outline for action that keeps the major, strategic goals in the forefront of the negotiation process. This book, then, is about negotiation, a process that is universally practiced, but seldom mastered. We would like negotiators to be satisfied with their results. This is not to suggest that all negotiations should have a win/win outcome-sometimes there must be a loser. But we believe the techniques and attitudes required for win/win negotiation-clear communications, empathy, awareness of the opposition's interests, and a sense of fair play-will help the opposition to see the advantage of compromise, even if one's original objectives are not achieved. With our 25 years of experience in training thousands of negotiators in the U.S. and abroad, we trust that readers will gain from this book and improve their future negotiations. We've exerted great effort to make this book easy to read and apply and with the concrete techniques, templates, case studies, and real-life examples that we have used, we hope the negotiation process comes to life for you. We wish all of you the best of negotiating in your future endeavors. Lexington, Massachusetts February, 1995