To your negotiation toolkit, consider adding a new skill: mind mapping.
In a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, Zack Anchors describes how financial advisor Rob O’Dell of Wheaton Wealth Partners of Wheaton, Illinois used the unconventional technique in an attempt to help a client negotiate the sale of his shares of the family business to his younger brother, who hoped to pass the business on to his children.
The brothers had become embroiled in a dispute about who was more responsible for the business’ success and how to fairly split its assets. The conflict was spilling over to cause divisions within the extended family.
“It was an ugly business divorce with a lot of moving parts,” O’Dell told Anchors. “There were other siblings involved who didn’t have ownership in the business, there was real estate, there were family dynamics and some complicated business finances.”
The brothers needed to better understand one another’s perspective, O’Dell realized. To help them do so, he drew upon mind mapping, a technique for diagramming complex information. A mind map begins with a central idea. Related ideas or sets of information are linked to the central idea as branches. O’Dell, who had been using mind-mapping software to help manage his firm, realized he might be able to apply it to help resolve his client’s dispute.
In a meeting with the brothers, O’Dell created a mind map with the family business located at its center. Working together, the three men added branches to the map (working on a computer with a large monitor) that included the business’ interests, assets, and liabilities. A branch about commercial real-estate holdings, for example, extended smaller branches that listed property taxes, valuation, and other figures.
“The brothers entered the negotiation with a competitive attitude, believing they had to fight for what they deserved,” writes Anchors. “But the process of creating the mind map required participation and collaboration, rather than confrontation.” As the screen filled, it became apparent that their interests overlapped.
The brothers reached an agreement that satisfied them both. O’Dell now uses mind mapping with all of his clients. Negotiators who would like to give this novel application a try can find free mind-mapping tools on the Internet.
Mind-mapping is not the only data-based decision-making approach for negotiators. Decision trees and scoring systems are two other negotiation skills that you can use to reduce conflict and find common ground. Working together on such analyses helps parties abandon their combative mindsets and adopt a problem-solving attitude.
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Ralph Braithwaite /
I like the idea of mind mapping for negotiation. I use it for problem solving, brainstorming, and preparing presentations and it works well.
Mike Roberts /
Have to endorse the use of mind mapping when negotiating. I have been using it for over 20 years and many of my students and trainees bring their mind mapping skills to the course and apply when preparing, planning strategies, taking face to face notes, analysing interests and concerns. It is one of a number of data / info / notetaking methods we use.
Keith Lutz /
Excellent to hear that it has been effective for you in practice! Best, Keith
Jeremy Barr /
I have been using live MindMapping in Mediations and facilitated negotiations for some time. Parties appreciate the clarity and having the issues set out and then resolved in front of them. The MindMap at the end of the sessions is in fact the outline of the agreement.
Liam Hughes /
This is absolutely spot on, and a great example of how mind maps can be used to great effect in negotiation, both in helping to plan your approach in advance, but also in the mapping of different perspectives/positions to get clarity. Readers might find it useful to see a number of negotiation mind map templates and examples available to view/download here: http://www.biggerplate.com/groups/view-group.aspx?groupid=173