counterpart

The following items are tagged counterpart.

In Deal Making, Broaden Your Focus

Posted by & filed under Business Negotiations.

Imagine that you are in charge of renting a new location for a branch of your company in a nearby city. After researching the reputations of a number of local real estate agents, you meet with several and choose the one who seems most knowledgable and responsive.

Google Searches for a More Diverse Team

Posted by & filed under Negotiation Skills.

Recently, executives at the Silicon Valley-based internet giant Google noticed a disturbing trend: the company was having difficulty hiring and retaining female employees, from engineers to senior executives, Claire Cain Miller writes in the August 22 issue of the New York Times. Women were dropping out during the job interview process and were not being promoted at the same rate as men. In addition, women have lost ground in top leadership positions since Larry Page took over as the company’s CEO in 2011. The issue at Google reflects a larger trend, as the percentage of women working in professional computing jobs fell from 25% in 2011 to 16% in 2010. In many cases, women have been leaving large computer companies for jobs in the public sector or with start-ups.

Bring Back Your Deal from the Brink: Weigh the Benefits of a Concession

Posted by & filed under Business Negotiations.

Another option for dealing with difficult negotiations is to craft what Harvard Law School professor Robert C. Bordone calls a “workaround” – a strategy for meeting your current goals without the involvement or support of your adversary. You might be able to induce a yes with a tempting concession on a key issue, according to Bordone. Offering a concession can be a risky strategy, as it may only encourage someone to push for more. But if a concession would allow you to move beyond that person once and for all, it may be your best option.

Bring Back Your Deal from the Brink

Posted by & filed under Business Negotiations.

What can you do when a difficult person is the main obstacle to a promising deal? There are a number of strategies you can use to bring the deal back from the brink of failure. In a series of posts, the Program on Negotiation will offer ten suggestions.

Why First Impressions Matter

Posted by & filed under Negotiation Skills.

Even when not based in reality, the expectation that someone is “tough” or “cooperative” becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy at the bargaining table. When you approach an allegedly tough competitor with suspicion and guardedness, he is likely to absord these expectations and become more competitive.

What Constitutes an Apology?

Posted by & filed under Conflict Resolution.

Psychologists Bruce Darby and Barry Schlenker at the University of Florida have defined apologies as “admissions of blameworthiness and regret for an undesirable event.” In negotiation, such undesirable events might include betraying a counterpart’s trust, making a disparaging remark about him, or falling through on a promise.

The Practical Art of Improvising an Agreement

Posted by & filed under 1 Day Courses, Executive Training.

It’s a fact: negotiation can’t be scripted. That’s true whether you’re negotiating a mega-deal or buying a used car. Whatever the context, you can’t dictate what your counterpart is going to do or say any more than you’d let them dominate you. Successful negotiation thus requires strategic agility and being nimble moment to moment, so you can adjust and adapt as the process unfolds. Challenging the static model of standard win-win and hardball approaches, Harvard Business School professor Michael Wheeler demonstrates the practical art of improvising an agreement.