The Harvard Business School is where many of the best and brightest from the business world come to earn the coveted MBA degree (Master of Business Administration). For more than 40 years the curriculum for the program has included training in becoming an effective negotiator. Roger Smith founded the Harvard Negotiation Project and authored along with his colleague William Ury several books including the best-seller Getting to Yes.
He championed the win-win approach to negotiation which postulated that for one to have a positive outcome to a negotiation did not mean the other had to have a negative outcome. He believed that a negotiator could either be soft (prioritizing good relationships over successful outcomes), hard (winning at all costs) or principled which begins with clearly identifying the wants and needs of both parties and then working toward that win-win we mentioned.
Fisher believed that any negotiation should begin with the building of a relationship between the parties. Doing so will promote trust. Then the parties should discuss their interests and needs but avoid making demands which he calls positions. Only then should they begin exploring options (possible solutions).
Have a look at these five videos to get more perspectives. The first is a general introduction to the Harvard Concept: (8:45):
Next we have William Ury, coauthor of Getting to Yes, about the Harvard Concept.(30:32):
And finally, three short videos of Roger Smith. The first of these is about how to deal with people who don’t want to negotiate. (2:44):
The next focuses on emphasizing differences between negotiating interests. (3:31):
And finally, Smith talks about how international political negotiations differ from personal domestic ones. (2:44):
If you are still with me, I would like to invite you to analyze a real-life negotiating situation. And I will include one in this blog about once a month. I would be very happy if you would use the comment section or an email to me if you prefer more privacy in which you lay out the interests of the parties and the possible solutions that could create a win-win situation.
Here is today’s situation: Your boss asks you to perform additional duties but says he is unable to offer additional compensation. You recognize that accepting the assignment would place a significant additional burden on you.
Why would you consider accepting the assignment?
What are topics you might negotiate over that would justify doing more work for no more money?
I look forward to hearing from you.
Herb