Also see, Negotiating with a Mediator’s Assistance: A Case Study, for more background information.
In an article, “Beyond Blame: Choosing a Mediator,” Stephen B. Goldberg advised negotiators involved in a dispute to seek out an interests-based mediator to assist both sides in reaching a resolution.
The bulk of Goldberg’s work took place prior to external negotiations.
He first met separately with each team member and key personnel in the member’s department to get a sense of the interests underlying each department’s position and the relative importance of each interest.
- For example, he learned that certain aspects of the new technology were less dear to the engineers than others and could be dropped if their more important aspects were protected. In other departments, similar discussions led Goldberg to identify other minor interests that could be traded off to protect more crucial interests.
Once he knew the core interests of each department, he engaged in “shuttle diplomacy,” trying out proposed tradeoffs with each department.
He then assembled the entire team to see if they could agree on an overall position. With his knowledge of key interests and possible tradeoffs, he was able to propose an overall corporate negotiation position that would protect the core interests of each department. Reaching overall agreement was not difficult.
Next, the operations VP assessed whether the common position fully represented overall corporate interests.
His alterations led to a further round of mediated internal negotiations that formed a corporate position acceptable to all.
Download Mediation Secrets for Better Business Negotiations: Top Techniques from Mediation Training Experts and you will discover mediation techniques for selecting the right mediator, understand the mediation process and learn how to engage the mediator to ensure a good outcome.
