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No doubt you’ve heard of "win-win" negotiation, but have you ever conducted a WIN-win session? WIN-win is the latest version of a negotiating technique that emphasizes maintaining a relationship with your negotiating parties.
Ron Shapiro earned his negotiating stripes as a sports agent and corporate negotiator and now has formed the Shapiro Negotiation Institute with Mark Jankowski, a negotiation trainer. The Power of Nice offers their insight – through negotiating more than half a billion dollars in contracts – into making successful deals that benefit both sides of the table.
Big Win, Little Win
What makes The Power of Nice different from similar books on negotiating strategies is the author’s WIN-win approach. "Today, everybody talks about win-win negotiations. Both sides win. Both get what they want. Both are equally happy. How delightful. How unrealistic," explain Shapiro and Jankowski. They go on to further explain that there is no such thing as both parties winning identically, that is, both getting all of what they want. One party is bound to get more and one less, even if both sides are content with the outcome. So, why not enter negotiations seeking for you to WIN big, and have the other party also be content, but with a smaller win?
It may not even matter what the other side does get, as long as you achieve your goal. You should even be willing to help the other side get what they want, if it enables you realize your goal, the authors propose.
A Systematic Approach
Shapiro and Jankowski’s approach is a systematic one, which they outline in the book with lots of examples, checklists, and forms for you to copy and use.
They begin with a definition of negotiation that sets the tone. Negotiation is, "the commerce of information for ultimate gain." You trade what you know for what you need to know. In the negotiation market, the authors state, "information is the commodity." In a negotiation, nothing is more valuable than information. Stated more simply, "negotiation is using knowledge to get what you want."
3 Ps and a Big L
So where does one begin in WIN-win negotiation. Not surprisingly, the first step is Preparation. Prepare better than the other side. Next remember to Probe, so you know what they want and why. The third key step is to Propose, but ideally without going first and revealing too much, but still achieving what you want. The Power of Nice devotes several chapters to each of these Three Ps of negotiating.
After you’ve mastered the steps of preparing, probing and proposing, the next challenge is to listen. Listening can help you gain valuable information without asking for it.
Challenges
So with such a good system of negotiating, what could go wrong? Plenty! And the authors address negotiating challenges. Three obvious areas they mention are: insufficient planning, ineffective communication, and inexperience. If you are an insignificant negotiator, consider bringing a partner. Or, use a mediator to assist with the process. The Power of Nice also addresses tough negotiators, including tough personalities you may encounter...
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