In: Operations Management
What is negotiation? What are the common negotiation pitfalls? What are the strategies to overcome them?
Negotiation can be considered as the bridge between two entities allowing for mutual coexistence of ideas, aim, and expectations to reach a general agreement in terms of mutual benefit. Negotiation can have different implications, styles, and underlying processes based on who is undertaking it and for what purpose. We can say that there are some common negotiation pitfalls that we can fall into which we can categorize into the following:
1. Poor planning
Just like any other princess, a negotiation can fall prey to poor
planning, creating the achieved outlook from the process to become
unfavorable for the parties.
2. Unclear objectives and assumptions
Going into a negotiation with vague goals and having prior
assumptions can essentially create a pitfall for the negotiation
process.
3. Not paying enough attention or caving in too quickly
Usually when one party is not paying the necessary attention to the
negotiation process or have no respect for the other party, one of
the parties might end up caving in too quickly giving rise to
imbalances, defeating the purpose of negotiation.
To overcome the pitfalls associated with negotiation, we can mainly:
PREPARE WELL
When the parties have prepared well for the negotiation process,
mostly that they are on the same page, have a clear understanding
of the goals, mutual respect, and clear communications, it allows
for a better negotiation process.
UNDERSTANDING NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION CUES
Having an explicit body language and nonverbal understanding cues
can help prepare for a far more productive and insightful
negotiation process.
REMAINING FLEXIBLE
Unexpected incidents and variables are common in any negotiation
process; getting startled by any change would not serve to benefit
us. We, therefore, have to remain flexible and open to negotiation
wherever possible.
HAVING A CLEAR EXPECTATION
Preparation is one thing, but, if we do not have a clear
understanding of our expectation and requirements for the
negotiation process, we cannot hope to achieve any significant
value from the negotiation process.