Negotiation is a strategic and learned skill. Whether one is
negotiating terms of compensation for a gainful employment, partnering with a
vendor, or evaluating merger or spin-off arrangements, the principle of
negotiation is a critical managerial skill applicable for individual
contributors or managerial roles. The agile principles of iterative and
incremental are equally applicable in this strategic negotiation. Two simple
ways this agility can manifest in negotiation turning out to be strategic
involve in getting back to the root cause before taking a collaborative or
assertive stand and having the self-organizing mindset to adapt the negotiating
style.
For instance, consider that a negotiator always has a
predetermined style. Within the organization, when negotiating for a resource
or budget such as the distributed negotiation, the predetermined style makes
the person too predictable. Such a predictability provides a competitive disadvantage
for the negotiator as the other party can deftly predict the questions and be
ready with the counter responses. Agile principles recommend the self-organized
team where the team determines how work executed after the user stories are
explained by the product owner. The team adapts to the operating rhythm within
every release and sometimes within every sprint as not all sprints and releases
are the same. Similarly, not all negotiations are the same and having an
adaptive agile mindset is critical for the negotiator as no two negotiations
are the same.
Let us look at the root cause. The goal of the negotiator is
to get to the basics of why the other party wants to engage in a negotiation. Trying
to understand the fundamental interest takes precedence over taking a position
based on power or seniority. This position is the outcome of what the
negotiator wants in the negotiation but to make the negotiation successful and
satisfactory the focus is on the “why.” Now, lean management principles have come to
the rescue here with the 5-why approach to not taking the immediate statement
at face value and questioning them further repeatedly thereby developing an
incrementally better view of the root cause.
Prior to coming to the table for negotiation, there needs to be just enough research done on the problem. This research gives you the best alternative to negotiating agreements (BATNA). While the interest is to have a win-win solution, often negotiations may end in “win some” – “lose some” situation. Knowing the BATNA helps with the zone of potential agreement (ZOPA) so that agreement is made on what is necessary (Opresnik, 2014). Otherwise, one can be tempted and led into the agreement trap!
As you can see, a strategic negotiation therefore is rooted
in adapting the skill to the scenario much like the project manager adapting to
the demands of the new project and understanding the requirements more than a
solution.
References
Opresnik, M.O. (2014). How You Learn to Successfully Negotiate. In: The Hidden Rules of Successful Negotiation and Communication. Management for Professionals. Springer, Cham.
