As Robert Cialdini
observed in his influential book, Influence - The
Art of Persuasion, we are much more likely to
cooperate and comply with requests from people whom we
like and with whom we feel we have something in
common. Separating the people from the problem
addresses that observation, but from the opposite
viewpoint. Unless we can put aside animosity or
dislike between ourselves and the other person, we are
less likely to find and maintain a long term solution
to the problem at hand.
Also, if we focus on
the issues rather than the person it is less likely
that we will unintentionally offend the other person
and cause an unnecessary barrier to reaching
agreement. By critiquing the ideas and not the person
themselves we increase the likelihood of useful
discussion and ultimately finding a mutually
acceptable solution.
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When the Landlord
states that he wants $15 per square foot plus common
area costs and the prospective tenant counters with
$10 per square foot plus common area costs, the stage
is set. What happens next could be the difference
between the tenant moving in or moving on.
The key question is
"Why"?
Why $15 per square
foot - why not $14.00 or $16.00?
Why $10 per square
foot - why not $9 or $11?
Would it make any
difference if the tenant were to know that the
Landlord needs to show rents of $15 per square foot
because that is the number his mortgage company
requires as a minimum to renew and maintain his
mortgage and loans? Also that the Landlord was just
concluded negotiations with a new tenant who had been
offered a lease rate of $16.00 per square foot.
What difference
would it make to the Landlord if he was to learn that
the Tenant chose $10 per square foot because he
anticipates having to spend $25 per square foot in
lease hold improvements in order to be able to conduct
business from the space during an initial 5 year lease
term. What effect would it have if the Landlord were
to also know that the Tenants next door neighbor
recently renewed a lease in the adjacent Mall for $10
per square foot or that the Tenants business Plan to
the Bank required a rent of $10 per square foot for
the first two years in order to be viable.
I think you agree
that this is all useful information - information that
could contain the kernel of a mutually satisfactory
agreement that would meet the needs behind the stated
interests.
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In the above example
he Landlord and Tenant both have an interest in
closing the lease deal - the Landlord wants a Tenant
and the Tenant wants a viable business. It would not
take much "brainstorming" to realize that if
the Landlord were to finance the tenants leasehold
improvements at its preferred commercial rate, which
may be as much a s couple of interest points below any
interest rate available to the Tenant, both parties
will get their needs met.
The option -
discovery stage is an open brainstorming session in
which both parties find possible options and do
not conduct any evaluation of them until after their
thoughts have been exhausted. Here again the first
guideline of" Separate the people from the
problem "is important so that rejection of any
given idea does not cause hard feelings or animosity
(When involved in these situations I suggest that
neither party claim any ownership in an idea so that
neither is bound or obligated to accept or reject an
option based on who came up with the idea).
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In order to be
believable any option needs to have a standard against
which it can be evaluated. Many times a party in a
mediation arrives at a solution but is unable to
authenticate it.
If I were to say
that I wanted $40,000 for my car you might say that it
was a lot of money. If, however, I was to show that I
arrived at that figure because two car dealers had
sold the same model for $45,000, that a used car guide
had valued the vehicle at between $38,000 - $42,000
and that one had sold in the Auto Trader for $38,000
(but it had cloth seats instead of the leather seats
in my vehicle) you now understand how I came to
$40,000 as my asking price. You may not agree with my
asking price (as a buyer you rarely will!) but you
have standards to objectively evaluate my price and
settle any disagreement.
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Sometimes no
agreement is the best agreement. negotiation and
mediation (unlike litigation )do not require a party
to accept a solution that does not meet their needs.
In order to evaluate when to accept or decline an
overall solution you must have given some thought to
the following questions:
What is the best
outcome I could realistically expect if this
negotiation / mediation were not to result in an
agreement. (BATNA)
What is the worst
outcome I could reasonably expect if the negotiation /
mediation were not to result in an agreement. (WATNA)
You will accept
anything that is better than your WATNA and would be a
fool to decline anything better than your BATNA. Your
realistic agreement terms will lie between the BATNA
and WATNA. It is also useful to conduct , as best as
you are able, the same exercise by "stepping into
the other party's shoes". This will allow you to
have some idea of the range of possible solutions the
other party might accept.
If you use these
five principles or guidelines you will be practicing a
technique known as Principled Negotiation. By having a
logical approach to your negotiations and being able
to justify the options that meet both party's needs
you will have greater success and better business and
personal relationships. Even if this is a one - off
negotiation, which very few are so never burn bridges
because you never know when you might meet the same
person again, if the other party understands the basis
of the options you would like implemented and
perceives you as someone who is both trustworthy and
rational you will have more success in getting
agreement and avoiding failure in reaching settlement
/ agreement or even costly litigation.
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In their book Getting
to Yes, Roger Fisher and William Ury outline a
negotiation philosophy and technique that is interest
focused, rather than positional, to emphasize discussion
of needs that must be satisfied if the parties are to
find a long term satisfying solution. The five basic
principles are: