NEGOTIATION: A Universal Winning Formula

Negotiation Between Employee and Employer 

Most of us think that negotiation is all about taking maximum advantage of the other person, and I am not an exception to this thinking. Unlike the popular belief of squeezing the maximum out of others in negotiations, the reality of the art of negotiation is totally different, at least in modern times. My learning from the course of Tony Robbins and Dean Graziosi on the art of negotiation suggests that good negotiation should ideally be beneficial for both the parties involved in the deal.

In other words, while going for negotiation one should go forward with the mindset of having a great feeling of own advantages from the deal and the other person should also feel the same. If you are going with the commitment of squeezing the maximum out of the other party, you might harvest the moment in your favor but the other end might go home with a feeling of loss. This feeling, in reality, kills your chances of building a long-lasting relationship. So, it is better to get rid of this mindset and focus on the smart give-and-take approach. This is how you win the deal with best wishes.

In the contemporary world when everyone has access to all sorts of information, it is better to look into the mind of deal-partner by asking about their expectations and thinking behind such expectations. Once you have a fair amount of ideas about expectations then only you should put forward your thoughts and deliverables and benefits attached to them.

In fact, the first of the four Harvard Principles of Negotiation is to separate the person from the issue. The moment you do so, your orientation towards the person on the other side of the table changes from enemy to partner. The rule of the game is simple, if you are ready for negotiation talks then the animosity vanishes and friendship sets-in. This mind-frame of trust makes room for listening and you leverage your resources to win the deal with your conditions.

The second Harvard Principle says that negotiation should not be position-focused but interest-oriented. So, when you are on a negotiation table you should discard the thought of the position of the person involved but ask him or her about interests and expectations. The inputs of interest and expectation play a very important in deal-making.

In the same spirit of listening and match, the third Harvard principle talks about the interests of the other party and art of customizing conditions to find agreeable solutions. The step-wise problem-to-solution approach is the best recipe for deal-making. You need to be ready with the right ingredients so that you could use them at the right moments to add more flavor to the deal. The feeling of fulfillment is most important in the art of negotiation. So, learning the art of reading between the lines makes you a good negotiator as the other party might not be so open about expectations upfront. Device solutions according to expectations and you will see a broad smile across the table. So, this is how we get a win-win solution.

Humans think in layers, meaning it moves from one layer to another with the hope of satisfying maximum conditions for cognitive gratification. The fourth Harvard  Principle is all about option-driven fulfillment. It says that one should have multiple options so that the other party could choose the best according to requirements. It is best to have 2 to 4 sets of options, focused on the fulfillment of expectations, for a successful negotiation.

The option-driven solutions package is a winsome game for both the parties as they go home with the satisfaction of maximum gain. The “sense of choice” does wonder in deal-making. So, be ready with customized solutions so that the other party could get options to choose from.

The art of negotiation is very dynamic, as the outcome of each negotiation is situation and condition driven, which varies from person to person. Listing, understanding, and flexibility are the key to success in deal-making. Someone rightly said that learn to cooperate not compete if you are on the negotiation table. You will learn and master the art with time but these four principles will be your northern-star to keep you in the right direction of negotiation.