第12章　谈判的最佳实践

PAGE

Copyright©McGraw-HillEducation.Allrightsreserved.NoreproductionordistributionwithoutthepriorwrittenconsentofMcGraw-HillEducation.

Chapter12

BestPracticesinNegotiation

Overview

Negotiationisanintegralpartofdailylifeand,fundamentally,askillinvolvinganalysisandcommunicationthateveryonecanlearn.Thepurposeofthisbookistoprovidestudentsofnegotiationwithanoverviewofthefield,aperspectiveonthebreadthanddepthofthesub-processesofnegotiation,andappreciationfortheartandscienceofnegotiation.Inthisfinalchapterwereflectonnegotiationatabroadlevelbyproviding10“bestpractices”fornegotiatorswhowishtocontinuetoimprovetheirnegotiationskills.SeeTable12.1andincludedinthefollowingbullets.

Beprepared.

Diagnosethefundamentalstructureofthenegotiation.

IdentifyandworktheBATNA.

Bewillingtowalkaway.

Masterthekeyparadoxesofnegotiation:

Claimingvaluevs.creatingvalue.

Stickingbyyourprinciplesvs.beingresilientenoughtogowiththeflow.

Stickingwithyourstrategyvs.opportunisticallypursuingnewoptions.

Beingtoohonestandopenvs.beingtooclosedandopaque.

Beingtootrustingvs.beingtoodistrusting.

Remembertheintangibles.

Activelymanagecoalitions—thoseagainstyou,foryou,andunknown.

Savorandprotectyourreputation.

Rememberthatrationalityandfairnessarerelative.

Continuetolearnfromyourexperience.

LearningObjectives

Appreciatetheextenttowhichnegotiationisbothanartandascience.

Explorethe10bestpracticesthatallnegotiatorscanfollowtoachieveasuccessfulnegotiation.

BePrepared

Preparationcannotbeoveremphasizedandnegotiatorsarestronglyencouragedtoprepareproperlyforallnegotiations–SeeChapter4.

Negotiatorswhoarebetterpreparedhavenumerousadvantages,including:

UnderstandingyourowninterestsandBATNA.

Theabilitytoanalyzetheotherparty’soffersmoreeffectivelyandefficiently.

Understandingthenuancesoftheconcession-makingprocess.

Allowingyoutheabilitytoachieveyournegotiationgoals.

Preparationshouldoccurbeforethenegotiationbeginssothatthetimespentnegotiatingismoreproductive.

Goodpreparationmeansunderstandingyourowngoalsandinterestsaswellaspossible,andbeingabletoarticulatethemtotheotherpartyskillfully.

Goodpreparationincludesbeingreadytounderstandtheotherparty’scommunicationinordertofindanagreementthatmeetstheneedsofbothparties.

Understandingtheneedsoftheotherpartyiscriticalpreparationforincreasingtheoddsofsuccess.

Goodpreparationalsomeanssettingaspirationsfornegotiationoutcomesthatarehighbutachievable.

Negotiatorswhosettheirsightstoolowarevirtuallyguaranteedtoreachsuboptimalagreements.

Ifyousetthemtoohigharemorelikelytostalemateandendnegotiationinfrustration.

Negotiatorsneedtoplanopeningstatementsandpositionscarefullysoyoucanclearlystatethemtotheotherparty.

Avoidplanningtheentirenegotiationsequence,asnegotiationsebbandflowandtherewillbesurprises.

Over-planningisnotagooduseofpreparationtime.

Negotiatorsshouldpreparebyunderstandingyourownstrengthsandweaknesses,yourneedsandinterests,thesituation,andtheotherpartyaswellaspossiblesothatyoucanadjustpromptlyandeffectivelyasthenegotiationproceeds.

DiagnosetheFundamentalStructureoftheNegotiation

Negotiatorsshouldconsciouslyassesswhethertheyarefacingafundamentallydistributivenegotiation,anintegrativenegotiation,orablendofthetwoandchoosetheirstrategiesandtacticsaccordingly.

Usingmismatchedstrategiesandtacticsleadstosuboptimaloutcomes.

Forinstance,usingdistributivetacticsinafundamentallyintegrativesituationwilllikelyresultinagreementsthatleaveintegrativepotentialuntapped.

Inthesesituations,moneyandopportunityareoftenleftonthetable.

Similarly,usingintegrativetacticsinadistributivesituationmaynotleadtooptimaloutcomeseither.

Negotiatorsalsoneedtorememberthatmanynegotiationswillconsistofablendofintegrativeanddistributiveelementsandthattherewillbedistributiveandintegrativephasestothesenegotiations.

Itisimportanttobecarefulwhentransitioningbetweenthesephasesasmisstepscanconfusetheotherpartyandleadtoimpasse.

Finally,therearetimeswhenaccommodation,avoidance,andcompromisemaybeappropriatestrategies.SeeChapter1.

Strongnegotiatorswillidentifythesesituationsandadoptappropriatestrategiesandtactics.

IdentifyandWorktheBATNA

Someofthemostimportantelementsofplanningandsourcesofpower(SeeChapters2,4,and8),arethealternativesavailableforthatnegotiationifanagreementisnotreached.

Onealternative,thebestalternativetoanegotiatedagreement(BATNA),isespeciallyimportantbecausethisistheoptionthatlikelywillbechosenshouldanagreementnotbereached.

NegotiatorsneedtobevigilantabouttheirBATNA.

YouneedtoknowwhatyourBATNAisrelativetoapossibleagreementandconsciouslyworktoimprovetheBATNAsoastoimprovethedeal.

NegotiatorswithoutastrongBATNAmayfinditdifficulttoachieveagoodagreementastheotherpartymaytrytopushthemaggressively,andtheymaybeforcedtoacceptanunsatisfyingagreement.

Forinstance,purchaserswhoneedtobyitemsfromsolesuppliersareawareofhowthelackofapositiveBATNAmakesitdifficulttoachievepositivenegotiationoutcomes.

Eveninthissituation,negotiatorscanworktoimprovetheirBATNAinthelong-term.

Negotiatorsalsoneedtobeawareoftheother’sBATNAandidentifyhowitcomparestowhatyouareoffering.

Therearethreethingsnegotiatorsshoulddowithrespecttotheothernegotiator’sBATNA:

Monitoritcarefullyinordertounderstandandretainyourcompetitiveadvantageovertheothernegotiator’salternatives;

RemindtheothernegotiatoroftheadvantagesyourofferhasrelativetotheirBATNA;and

Inasubtleway,suggestthattheothernegotiator’sBATNAmaynotbeasstrongastheythinkitis.

Thiscanbedoneinapositivewaybystressingyourstrengthsorinanegativewaybyhighlightingtheother’sweaknesses.

BeWillingtoWalkAway

Thegoalofmostnegotiationsistoachieveavaluedoutcome,notjustreachanagreement.

Strongnegotiatorsrememberthisandarewillingtowalkawayfromanegotiationwhen:

Noagreementisbetterthanapooragreement

Whentheprocessissooffensivethatthedealisn’tworththework

Theydon’ttrusttheotherpartytofollowthrough

Whilethissoundssimpleinprinciple,inpractice,negotiatorscanbecomesofocusedonanagreementtheylosesightoftherealgoal,whichisagoodoutcome.

Guardagainstthisby:

Makingregularcomparisonswiththetargetssetduringplanning

BycomparingprogressagainstyourwalkawaypointandBATNA

Continuetocompareprogressinthecurrentnegotiationwiththetarget,walkaway,andBATNAandbewillingtowalkawayifyourwalkawayorBATNAbecomestrulythebetterchoice.

EvenintheabsenceofagoodBATNA,negotiatorsshouldhaveaclearwalkawaypointinmindwheretheywillhaltnegotiations.

Sometimes,itishelpfulifthewalkawayiswrittendownorcommunicatedtootherssothenegotiatorcanberemindedduringdifficultnegotiations.

Inteamnegotiations,itisimportanttohaveateammembermonitorthewalkawaypointandberesponsibleforstoppingthenegotiationifitappearsafinalsettlementisbeyondthispoint.

MastertheKeyParadoxesofNegotiation

Excellentnegotiatorsunderstandthatnegotiationembodiesasetofparadoxes—seeminglycontradictoryelementsthatactuallyoccurtogether.

Inthissection,wediscussfivecommonparadoxesthatnegotiatorsface.

Thechallengeinhandlingtheseparadoxesistostriveforbalanceinthesesituations.

Thereisanaturaltensioninchoosingoneofthealternativesinaparadox,butthebestwaytomanageaparadoxistoattempttostrikeabalancebetweentheopposingforces.

Strongnegotiatorsknowhowtoreadandmanagetheseopposingforcesandmanagethecomplextradeoffs.

ClaimingValueversusCreatingValue

Allnegotiationshaveavalue-claimingstage,wherepartiesdecidewhogetshowmuchofwhat,butmanynegotiationsalsohaveavalue-creationstage,wherepartiesworktogethertoexpandtheresourcesundernegotiation.

Theskillsandstrategiesappropriatetoeachstagearequitedifferent.

Ingeneralterms,distributiveskillsarecalledforinthevalue-claimingstageandintegrativeskillsareusefulinvaluecreation.

Typically,thevaluecreationstagewillprecedethevalueclaimingstage

Achallengefornegotiatorsistobalancetheemphasisonthetwostagesandthetransitionfromcreatingtoclaimingvalue.

Oneapproachtomanagingthistransitionistopubliclylabelit.

Inaddition,mostnegotiatorsareoverlybiasedtowardthinkinganegotiationismoreaboutclaimingvaluethanaboutcreatingvalue.

Somanagingaparadoxwilllikelyrequireanoveremphasisondiscussingthevaluecreationdynamicsearlyintheprocess.SeeChapter4,

StickingbyYourPrinciplesversusBeingResilientEnoughtoGowiththeFlow

Thepaceandflowofnegotiationscanmovefromanintensehaggleoverfinancialissuestoanequallyintensedebateoverdeeplyheldprinciplesofwhatisright,orfair,orappropriate.

Thesetransitionsoftencreateasecondparadox.

Ontheonehand,effectivenegotiationrequiresflexiblethinkingandanunderstandingthatanassessmentofasituationmayneedtobeadjustedasnewinformationcomestolight;achievinganydealwillprobablyrequirebothpartiestomakeconcessions.

Ontheotherhand,coreprinciplesarenotsomethingtobackawayfromeasilyintheserviceofadoingadeal.

Effectivenegotiatorsarethoughtfulaboutthedistinctionbetweenissuesofprinciple,wherefirmnessisessential,andotherissueswherecompromiseoraccommodationisthebestroutetoamutuallyacceptableoutcome.

StickingwithYourStrategyversusOpportunisticallyPursuingNewOptions

Newinformationwillfrequentlycometolightduringanegotiation,andnegotiatorsneedtomanagetheparadoxbetweenstickingwithyourpreparedstrategyandpursuinganewopportunitythatarisesduringtheprocess.

Thisisachallengingparadoxbecausenew“opportunities”maybeTrojanhorsesharboringunpleasantsurprises.

Negotiatorsmustbewillingtoreconsideralltheadvanceplanningtheydidandbewillingtomodifythatplanningonthebasisofnewinformationorcircumstances.

Ontheotherhand,circumstancesdochange,andlegitimateone-time,seize-the-momentdealsdooccur.

Thechallengefornegotiatorsistodistinguishphantomopportunitiesfromrealones;developingthecapacitytorecognizethedistinctionisanotherhallmarkoftheexperiencednegotiator.

Strongpreparationiscriticaltobeingabletomanagethe“stay-with-the-current-strategyversusopportunismparadox.

Wellpreparednegotiatorswhounderstandthecircumstancesarewellpositionedtomakethisjudgment.

Negotiatorsshouldpaycloseattentiontotheirintuition.

Ifadealdoesn’tfeelright,ifitseemstoogoodtobetrue,ortheriskofacceptingtheopportunityistoohigh,thenitisprobablynotaviableopportunity.

BeingTooHonestandOpenversusBeingTooClosedandOpaque

Negotiatorsfacetwodilemmas.

Thefirstisthedilemmaofhonesty:howopenandhonestshouldIbewiththeotherparty?

Negotiatorswhoarecompletelyopenexposethemselvestotherisktheotherpartywilltakeadvantageofthem.

Toomuchknowledgeabouttheotherparty’sneedscanleadtosuboptimaloutcomes.

Ontheotherhand,beingcompletelyclosedwillnotonlyhaveanegativeeffectonyourreputation,butitalsoisanineffectivestrategyasyoudon’tdiscloseenoughinformationtocreatethegroundworkforagreement.

Thechallengeofthisparadoxisdecidinghowmuchinformationtorevealandhowmuchtoconceal—bothforpragmaticandethicalreasons.

Strongnegotiatorshaveconsideredthisparadoxandunderstandtheircomfortzone,whichwilllikelyvarydependingontheotherparty.

Rememberthatnegotiationisanongoingprocess.

Asthenegotiatorsmakepositiveprogress,theyshouldbebuildingtrustandfeelingmorecomfortableaboutbeingopenandrevealinginformationtotheotherparty.

Withthatsaid,thereissomeinformationthatshouldprobablynotberevealedregardlessofhowwellthenegotiationisprogressing.

Suchasyourbottomlineinadistributivenegotiation.

BeingTooTrustingversusBeingTooDistrusting

Asamirrorimageofthedilemmaofhonesty,negotiatorsalsofacethedilemmaoftrust:howmuchtotrustwhattheotherpartytellsthem.SeeChapter1.

Negotiatorswhobelieveeverythingtheotherpartytellsthemmakesthemselvesvulnerabletobeingtakenadvantageofbytheotherparty.

Ontheotherhand,negotiatorswhodonotbelieveanythingtheotherpartytellsthemwillhaveadifficulttimereachinganagreement.

Negotiatorsshouldrememberthatnegotiationisaprocessthatevolvesovertime.

Trustcanbebuiltbybeinghonestandsharinginformationwiththeotherside,whichhopefullywillleadtoreciprocaltrustandcredibledisclosurebytheotherside.

Moreover,thereareindividualdifferencesintrust.

Somenegotiatorsaremoretrusting,butbecomelesstrustingifinformationshowstheotherpartyisuntrustworthy.

Othernegotiatorswillbemorecomfortablehavingtheotherpartyearntheirtrustandbemoreskepticalearlyinnegotiations.

Thereisnorightorwrongapproachtomanagingthisdilemma.

Strongnegotiatorsareaware,however,andconsciouslymonitorhowtheyaremanagingthischallenge.

RemembertheIntangibles

Itisimportantthatnegotiatorsremembertheintangiblefactorswhilenegotiatingandremainawareoftheirpotentialeffects.

Intangiblesfrequentlyaffectnegotiationinanegativeway,andtheyoftenoperateoutsideofthenegotiator’sawareness.

AsnotedinChapter1,intangiblesaredeepmotivatingpsychologicalfactorssuchaswinning,avoidingloss,lookingtoughorstrongtoother,notlookingweak,beingfair,standingbyyourprinciples,andsoon.

Thebestwaytoidentifytheexistenceofintangiblefactorsistotrytoseewhatisnottransparentlythere.

Ifyourcarefulpreparationandanalysisrevealsnotangibleexplanationsfortheothernegotiator’sbehavior—startlookingforintangiblemotivators.

Oftennegotiatorsdonotlearnwhatintangiblefactorsareinfluencingtheothernegotiatorunlesstheotherchoosestodisclosethem.

Negotiatorscanseetheirexistence,however,bylookingforchangesintheothernegotiator’sbehaviorfromonenegotiationtoanother,pointstheothercontinuallybringsup,andbygatheringinformationabouttheotherpartybeforenegotiation.

Thereareatleasttwomorewaystodiscoverintangiblesthatmightbeaffectingtheother.

Onewayistoaskquestions.

Trytogettheotherpartytorevealwhytheyarestickingsostronglytoagivenpoint.

Thequestion-askingprocessshouldbegentleandinformal.

Aggressivequestioningmaymaketheotherpartydefensive.

Asecondwayistotakeanobserverorlistenerwithyoutothenegotiation.

Listenerfeedbackmayhelprefocusthediscussionsoastosurfacetheintangiblesanddevelopanewlineofquestionsoroffers.

Negotiatorsneedtorememberthatintangiblesinfluencetheirownbehavior.

Itiscommontonotrecognizewhatismakingyouangry,defensive,orzealouslycommittedtosomeidea.

Often,talkingtoanotherpersoncanhelpfigurethisout.

Strongnegotiatorsareawareofhowbothtangibleandintangiblefactorsinfluencenegotiations,andtheyweightbothfactorswhenevaluatinganegotiationoutcome.

ActivelyManageCoalitions–ThoseagainstYou,forYou,andUnknown

Coalitionscanhaveverysignificanteffectsonthenegotiationprocessandoutcome.

Negotiatorsshouldrecognizethreetypesofcoalitionsandtheirpotentialeffects.

Coalitionsagainstyou.

Coalitionsthatsupportyou.

Loose,undefinedcoalitionsthatmaymaterializeeitherfororagainstyou.

Strongnegotiatorsassessthepresenceandstrengthofcoalitionsandworktocaptureastrong,supportivecoalition.

Ifthisisnotpossible,negotiatorsneedtoworktopreventtheotherpartyfromcapturingaloosecoalitionfortheirownpurposes.

Ifpartofacoalition,communicationwiththecoalitioniscriticaltoensuringthepowerofthecoalitionisalignedwithyourgoals.

Negotiatorswhoareagentsorrepresentativesmustmanagetheagencyrelationship.

Successfullyconcludingnegotiationswhenacoalitionisalignedagainstyouisanextremelychallengingtask.

Itisimportanttorecognizewhencoalitionsarealignedagainstyouandtoworkconsciouslytocountertheirinfluence.

Thismayinvolveadivide-and-conquerstrategywhichinstillsinstability.

Coalitionsoccurinmanyformalnegotiations,suchasenvironmentalassessmentsandreachingpolicydecisionsinanindustryassociation.

Coalitionsmayalsohaveastronginfluenceinlessformalsettings,suchasworkteamsandfamilies.

Managingcoalitionsisespeciallyimportantwhennegotiatorsneedtorelyonotherpeopletoimplementanagreement.

Negotiatorsmayforgeanagreementwhenthemajorityofpeopleinfluencedarenotinfavor—implementingtheagreementcanbeverychallenging.

Strongnegotiatorsneedtomonitorandmanagecoalitionsproactively.

Whilethismaytakeconsiderabletimethroughoutthenegotiationprocessitwilllikelyleadtolargepayoffsattheimplementationstage.

SavorandProtectYourReputation

Reputationsarelikeeggs—fragile,andverydifficulttorebuildoncebroken.

Startingnegotiationswithapositivereputationisessential,andnegotiatorsshouldbevigilantinprotectingtheirreputations.

Considerthesecontrastingreputations:toughbutfairversustoughanddevious.

Negotiatorspreparedifferentlyforeachofthesecontrastingreputations.

Ratherthanleavingreputationtochance,youcanworktoshapeandenhanceyourreputationbyactinginaconsistentandfairmanner.

Consistencyprovidestheotherpartywithaclearsetofpredictableexpectationsabouthowyouwillbehave,leadingtoastablereputation.

Fairnesssendsthemessagethatyouareprincipledandreasonable.

Strongnegotiatorsalsoperiodicallyseekfeedbackfromothersaboutthewaytheyareperceivedandusethatinformationtostrengthentheircredibilityandtrustworthiness.

RememberThatRationalityandFairnessAreRelative

Researchonnegotiatorperceptionandcognitionisquiteclear(seeChapter6):

Peopletendtoviewtheworldinaself-servingmanneranddefinethe“rational”thingtodoora“fair”outcomeorprocessinawaythatbenefitsthemselves.

Negotiatorsneedtobeawareofthistendencyinboththemselvesandtheotherparty.

Negotiatorscandothreethingstomanagetheseperceptionsproactively.

First,theycanquestiontheirownperceptionsoffairnessandgroundtheminclearprinciples.

Second,theycanfindexternalbenchmarksandexamplesthatsuggestfairoutcomes.

Finally,theycanilluminatedefinitionsoffairnessheldbytheotherpartyandengageinadialoguetoreachconsensusonwhichstandardsoffairnessapplyinagivensituation.

Moreover,negotiatorsareofteninthepositiontocollectivelydefinewhatisrightorfairaspart