Annie's Reading Room What do you do if the other side is being hard headed and simply repeats their stated position and digs in. If pushing back does not work, what does? How can you prevent the cycle of action and reaction? DO NOT push back. Refuse to react.  Time for negotiation jujitsu, as promised! Jujitsu is an oriental martial art which avoids pitting your strength against your opponents directly. Instead, you use your skill to step aside and turn their strength to your ends. What does this look like in practice? Negotiation Jujitsu Typically, an attack will consist of three maneuvers: asserting a position forcefully, attacking ideas, and attacking you. Let’s look at how to handle each of these. Don’t attack their position, look behind it . When the other side sets forth their position, neither reject it nor accept it. Treat it as one possible option. Look for the interests behind it, seek out the principles it reflects, and think about ways to imp...

Annie's Reading Room We have been learning so many good techniques, but in the process of negotiating, you are bound to run into people who don’t “play nice.” Thus begins the first of three chapters with the overarching theme of… "Yes, But…" What if they are more powerful? Of what use is talking about interests, options, and standards if the other side has a stronger bargaining position? What do you do if the other side it richer or better connected, or if they have a larger staff or more powerful weapons? Protect yourself In response to power, the most any method of negotiation can do is to meet two objectives: first , to protect you against making an agreement you should reject and second , to help you make the most of the assets you do have so that any agreement you reach will satisfy your interests as well as possible. The costs of using a bottom line . Having a bottom line makes it easier to resist pressure and temptations of the moment....

I don’t know if you have been thinking this while reading these posts, but I’ve been thinking, “Yes. That’s all well and good but at the end of the day, the two parties still have interests that conflict!” This chapter, Insist on Using Objective Criteria , will address that. Deciding on the basis of will is costly .  If trying to settle differences of interest on the basis of will has such high costs, the solution is to negotiate on some basis independent of the will of either side – that is, on the basis of objective criteria. The case for using objective criteria . You want the rent to be lower, the landlord wants it to be higher. Why not insist that a negotiated price, for example, be based on some standard such as market value, replacement cost, depreciated book value, or competitive prices instead of whatever the seller demands? Principled negotiation produces wise agreements amicably and efficiently . People using objective criteria tend to use time more efficien...