Global Summit of Women 2003
Marrakech, Morocco
 

DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE NEGOTIATION SKILLS

 Alice M. Dear, Vice President, Africa Millennium Fund

              I am delighted to have the opportunity to share with you during this session some practical techniques and strategies to help negotiate successfully in our business and in our careers. I also look forward to learning more from your diverse experiences about culturally sensitive approaches to negotiations.

Although each of us may have differing opinions about what negotiation is, for purposes of our discussion, let’s define negotiation as a problem-solving process through which parties influence others and use personal power to reach an agreement, with each party attempting to maximize its gains and minimize its losses. Negotiation is a process to satisfy both parties’ interests. It can be ongoing, and is both formal and informal. Although external to us, it affects us daily. Negotiation is the pre-eminent form of decision making in our personal and professional lives and also in the public arena.

By considering how vast our relationship network is, we can quickly grasp the extent to which we engage in negotiation on a regular basis. In our personal lives, we negotiate with our spouse/partner/significant other, our children, friends and relatives. How we decide to prioritize and manage the household budget, divide the housework, choose between watching the movie or the sports event, where we go on vacation all result from negotiations. We negotiate bedtime and curfews, dinner menus and appropriate punishment for misbehavior at home. While in the workplace, with our bosses, subordinates and colleagues we commonly negotiate such things as setting goals, sharing workload, scheduling deadlines, vacation time, and amount of raises. We also negotiate as a matter of routine with our vendors, clients, consultants and other peers. In fact, 90-95% of negotiations take place with people with whom we have on-going relationships.

Because we are so frequently involved in negotiating, we certainly want to be as effective as possible, thereby improving the probability that our interests are met. Let’s first examine some of the most common negotiating styles, as style can have a significant impact on the outcome. Styles vary according to whether the emphasis is placed on the relationship or the results. The Accommodating Style is willing to yield all there is to yield and, predictably, measures low on results but high on relationship. The Competitive Style tries to gain all there is to gain, frequently using force or position power. Equally predictable, it is high on results but low on relationship.  By far, the most successful negotiating style is Collaborative. Rating high in both relationships and results, the Collaborative Style tries to find the maximum possible gain for both parties, by carefully exploring the interests of all the parties, and often by enlarging the pie. This Collaborative Style is the basis of Principled or Mutual Gains Negotiation.

I believe that the Collaborative Style is very similar to the natural female persona. In the home or office, women are the ultimate problem-solvers: the care givers, the arbitrators, the ones who massage the bruised ego, smooth over the rough bumps in the road -- all to find that middle ground that keeps everyone happy. In the language of negotiations, we women typically reach agreement by satisfying the interests of all parties – we maximize the gains, cut the losses and preserve relationships. That’s what we do every day without giving it a second thought!

Now that we are aware of our innate ability to negotiate, let’s look at ways to become more effective. Hopefully, each of you will learn a few techniques this morning and leave here with tools that will further strengthen your negotiating power.

The story often told to illustrate how principled negotiations work is that of a mother attempting to resolve a dispute between her two daughters who are both arguing over who should have the one remaining orange in the fruit bowl. Tired of the fuss, the mother cut the orange in two and gave each of her daughters half an orange. One peeled the orange, ate the fruit to satisfy her hunger, and threw away the peel. The other peeled the orange and threw away the fruit, keeping the orange rind that she needed for cooking. Had the two sisters discussed why each of them wanted the orange, each of their needs could have been met fully. Principled negotiation effectively utilizes interest-based, problem-solving strategies to reach agreement yielding mutual gains.

Essentially, there are two problems in every negotiation -- the interpersonal: how do I deal with the other side? -- and the substantive: what are the terms of the deal? Mutual gains negotiation seeks to reach agreement through a process based on mutual respect with both sides achieving their interest and concluding in a win-win situation. Using the “Mutual Gains Negotiation” handout as a reference, let’s identify some strategies in joint problem-solving to move us from disagreement to agreement .

Strategies in Joint Problem-Solving

Let’s first consider interests, both yours and theirs. What are the needs, concerns, underlying fears, motives and aspirations that drive the negotiation? Be certain to identify your own as well as the other side’s needs and interests prior to beginning a negotiation.

Next consider the options; gather ideas of possible mutually agreeable solutions to a problem.

If you cannot generate mutually agreeable options, seek independent standards: objective criteria that are independent of both parties. These standards could be, for example, an acceptable market practice, legal requirements, company policy, industry practice or a competing offer.

Separate people / personal problems from the business issues being negotiated. Control your emotions and use reason. Ask open questions, be an active listener and be sensitive to people problems. In tough negotiations each side perceives the other as difficult. The challenge is to turn competition into an exercise of joint problem solving. One has to separate the person from the problem. Often when decisions being contemplated impact us greatly, we are reminded frequently “it’s not personal.” In the heat of a negotiation, however, you and I both know that it feels very personal.

Even before entering a negotiation, regardless of how great things might go, one should explore a wide range of actions to take in the event the negotiation fails. Choose the best alternative as your BATNA – your Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement?  It is your backup plan that satisfies your interests and will be activated if the negotiation fails. How can you improve your BATNA?  If, for example, you are seeking a salary raise while your manager is adamant about containing his budget, you may have determined that your BATNA is to leave the company if the raise is refused. Your BATNA certainly would be improved if you had already interviewed with another company before going into the negotiation, and already had a job offer with a higher salary. You will feel more empowered in your negotiations as a direct result of your strengthened  BATNA.

Guidelines for Handling Difficult Situations

Here are some guidelines for handling difficult situations that can help avoid reverting to positional bargaining and get your opponent to focus on the issue / problem:

·        Do not retaliate. Stick to reason instead.

Ask for reasons even when you expect there are none. This helps you to rationally expose the weakness of the other side.

• Ask questions rather than stating propositions.

Ask for reasons, explanations, facts, figures, and standards.

• Insist on fairness.

Keep reiterating your desire for a fair solution and your readiness for objectivity.

• Summarize.

Summarize what you agree on and isolate the points on which you differ.

• Strategically expose your BATNA.

If your BATNA is better than the other side thinks it is, then let them know how acceptable your BATNA is. Do this carefully considering the relationship, tone of the negotiation, underlying needs and interests.

• Focus on the problem.

Continuously focus attention on the “problem” and away from yourself, tricks or manipulative tactics.

• Invite ideas and criticism.

Step in your partner’s shoes; ask them to step in yours.

• Take a needed break.

If all else fails, take a break to take stock of the situation and your BATNA. Buy time. Reframe the issues.

Effective negotiation involves collaboration. By working together with the other side, using influence as your personal power, and staying committed to attaining mutual gains, you will succeed. As with anything, practice makes perfect.

Now that you recognize how frequently you negotiate, improve your techniques by practicing and adjusting your approach according to the style of the other side. Cultures differ in many respects and will have an impact on negotiating styles, as will gender in some instances. Reflecting on those differences prior to the negotiation may help to improve your effectiveness. I believe strongly that women have a comparative advantage in the mutual gains negotiating style. It is imperative that we further develop and fine-tune our natural qualities for greater empowerment and effectiveness.

I thank you for your attention and look forward to an exchange with the other panelists and the audience in the question and answer period.   

[This presentation is based on techniques of Principled Negotiations advanced in the book, Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In, by Roger Fisher and William Ury (New York, Penguin, 1991), and developed by the Harvard Negotiation Project. In Getting Past No: Negotiating Your Way from Confrontation to Cooperation (New York, Bantam Books 1993), William Ury describes his five-step strategy to winning cooperation when challenged by strongly felt differences.]