Negotiation Skills are critically important for navigating the modern world

To get what we want we are compelled to negotiate.

New World; New Rules

Negotiation skills are critical in managing teams and projects. In today’s business world we can rapidly assemble mosaics of talent to address any project or goal. We can effectively assemble a team of world-class talent around any set of tasks we are confronting and get things done quickly, efficiently, and cost effectively.
We can use matching engines like Freelancer and Upwork either to provide our skill sets for hire or locate and contract the skills and expertise we need. We don’t need to live near each other or be in the same office in order to productively work together. We can use email, Skype, GoToMeeting, and other tools to bring people together to work effectively while transcending geography. Open up a Skype channel and the person can be next to you all day collaborating in real time.
We don’t need to be co-located in the same office any longer. And the positions no longer need to be permanent. We can configure and reconfigure talent specific to a particular project or phase of a project. Teams can ebb and flow and breathe as the enterprise expands, contracts, and functions evolve.
We can contract with people best suited to a job and create and organize teams to fulfill our vision and goals. This turbo charged fluid approach to Human Resources is a boon to productivity. But without the clear lines of authority inherent in a static organization, challenges arise.
To accomplish our work, and meet our deliverables, in this new paradigm we rely on individuals and organizations over which we exercise no direct control. Purposeful management in these situations takes negotiation skill.
For more get my free eBook: Become a Better Negotiator

 

Negotiation, Management and Leadership

In this new world where direct lines of authority have transformed into networks of collaboration, negotiation has become the primary form of decision-making and a key to management and leadership.
To get what we want we are compelled to negotiate.
Pyramids of power are shifting into networks of negotiation. The communications revolution has created the ability to form global “virtual” organizations with cross-cultural transactions. And these organizations morph and mutate as the tasks at hand change.
We are participating in a negotiation revolution as we move towards collaboration and cooperation and away from adversarial competitive models and modes of behavior.
We have come to understand that wise agreement is better for both sides than the alternative. This approach is called Principled Negotiation.
For more get my free eBook: Become a Better Negotiator

 

Principled Negotiation

Principled Negotiation employs a methodology that removes emotions and egos from the process by agreeing to work together to address concerns rather than trick, win or beat up each other in order to achieve domination. It incorporates agreed upon objective standards to evaluate options and uses collaborative brainstorming sessions to come up with those options.This process works in two-sided deal making or in complex multi-sided negotiations.
Principled Negotiation is based on engaging all interested parties in a joint search for mutual gains and applying legitimate standards for assessing the merit of various options. It is a process of creatively brainstorming to locate opportunities and search for solutions that are better for all sides.

Negotiation as a Reproducible, Repeatable Process

In order to make a negotiation process predictably functional we must separate the people from the problem, brainstorm possible solutions and alternatives, and use objective criteria to judge the alternatives. We must also know our bottom line and come up with our best alternative in case we can’t arrive at a satisfactory negotiated solution.

This process is all about engaging the other side in exploring mutually beneficial solutions and agreements. This methodology not only makes the process work, it also creates agreements that are less likely to fall apart.

Following these guidelines allows negotiations to proceed in a methodical and measured manner and make negotiating into a learnable skill that you can master.
For more get my free eBook: Become a Better Negotiator