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Win-Win
Negotiation... Win-Win negotiation has become the more accepted way of conducting business. Each side looks as at the other side as a partner, who must also win something from the negotiation. In contrast, positional bargaining has one side looking at maximizing its profit without much concern for the welfare of the other side. Just to digress a bit, I should let you know that much of what you read here comes from several sources: I did not invent these concepts myself. I took a correspondence course in negotiation from the MBA program of Heriot-Watt University and some conflict resolution courses from Mount Royal College in Calgary. I also read reading the very popular "Getting to Yes" book.* I should also note that I did study some negotiation strategy books written in the 1960s. These books focused on tactics for positional bargainers, who, after my win-win training, I saw as tactics to push the other side almost to, but not past, their breaking point. This is not a good foundation to build a positive long-term relationship because even when the other side reaches agreement near "their edge" of the negotiation room, they feel they have been bullied into accepting an agreement that is barely acceptable to them. In the future, the side that was pushed the most may only want to deal with their partner on a minimal basis, thereby closing opportunities for further business. They may bad-mouth their partner, thus giving their partner a reputation as a hard-bargainer. They just may wait for when the situation changes—and they have the power to push their partner to his edge of his corner. The success of getting the most for yourself on a few particular deals eventually has long-term repercussions on future deals. In OilFinancier, you should want a win-win negotiation strategy. You are building a positive relationship with the other side because you are likely going to do business with that person many times throughout the seminar. In the car example I gave earlier, it is unlikely the buyer or seller will see each other again, and it is not as important to develop a positive relationship in this kind of business deal. But to succeed in OilFinancier, you can’t push your fellow financiers to the edge on every deal. Follow this link to see examples of positional bargaining and win-win negotiation. To understand the difference between interests and positions better, consider this classic negotiation example of two librarians. One librarian wants the window open; the other wants it closed. The position of the window is actually the negotiating position. A positional bargainer would only see this negotiation as putting the window somewhere between open and closed. But the positions are only the outward appearance of the interests each librarian has: one librarian wants to get some fresh air; the other does not want a draft. If we recognize these interests, a solution outside of the open/close position may become apparent. In this example, the solution was opening a window that was far from the working area of the librarian who didn’t like the draft. In this solution, both sides got want they wanted. In positional bargaining, one side was certain to lose. * Roger Fisher & William Ury, "Getting to Yes; Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In," 1981. |
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