Knowing the norms of ethics and negotiation can be useful whether you’re negotiating for yourself or on behalf of someone else. Every ethical situation you encounter will come with its own twists and nuances, but there are a few guiding principles negotiators can keep in mind when navigating difficult choices at the bargaining table.
When pressure rises and tradeoffs become complicated, it can help to pause and ask a few simple questions. Doing so can clarify where the line lies between right and wrong—and, just as importantly, help you define your own ethical standards as a negotiator.
By asking yourself the following questions, you can better illuminate ethical boundaries in negotiation and make decisions you’ll feel comfortable standing behind later.
By asking yourself the following questions, you can illuminate the boundaries between right and wrong at the negotiation table and in the process discover your own ethical standards:
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Principle 1. Reciprocity
Would I want others to treat me—or someone close to me—this way?
Negotiations often involve competitive pressures, but fairness still matters. If a tactic would feel deceptive or unfair if used against you, it’s worth reconsidering whether it belongs in your own approach.
Principle 2. Publicity
Would I be comfortable if my actions were fully and fairly described in the newspaper—or shared online?
In today’s world, business decisions rarely stay private for long. Considering how your choices would look if publicly known can be a powerful ethical checkpoint.
Principle 3. Trusted friend
Would I feel comfortable telling my best friend, spouse, or children what I am doing?
If explaining your negotiation strategy to someone you respect feels uncomfortable, that discomfort may signal a deeper ethical concern.
Principle 4. Universality
Would I advise anyone else in my situation to act this way?
This question forces consistency. If you wouldn’t recommend the tactic to others facing the same decision, it may not be the right move for you either.
Principle 5. Legacy
Does this action reflect how I want to be known and remembered?
Negotiations end, but reputations endure. Consider whether today’s decision supports the professional and personal legacy you hope to build.
Doing the right thing in negotiation sometimes means accepting a known cost in the short term—whether financial, strategic, or personal. Yet over time, cutting ethical corners can prove far more expensive, damaging relationships, credibility, and future opportunities.
In negotiation, as in business more broadly, integrity tends to pay dividends long after any single deal is done.
If you want to learn more about ethics and negotiation, read the following resources:
What If We Have the Same Social Motive at the Bargaining Table: When two people share the same motivation, they may fall commit the same mistakes and reinforce each other’s failures. In this article, we evaluate a labor negotiation in which the chief management negotiator withholds information about revenue projections, while the labor leader holds back details about workforce sentiment. With impasse the result, it helps to be aware of when you’re negotiating with a fellow individualist or a fellow cooperator, your goal should be to overcome the inherent flaws of your orientation (to identify your negotiating style – please read “Identifying Your Negotiation Style”).
Trust in Negotiations – Trust takes time to develop but negotiators rarely have time to build strong relationships with their counterparts so instead a cautious approach is undertaken in order to protect yourself from a bad deal. In this article, the argument for taking risks during a negotiation with a counterpart that you do not know is explored and the benefits and pitfalls of this risk-taking approach are delineated.
Beware Your Counterpart’s Biases – After a failed negotiation, it’s tempting to construct a story about how the other side’s irrationality led to impasse. Unfortunately, such stories will not resurrect the deal. In the past we have encouraged you to ‘debias’ your own behavior by identifying the assumptions that may be clouding your judgment. We have introduced you to a number of judgment biases – common, systematic errors in thinking that are likely to affect your decisions and harm your outcomes in negotiation.
Strategies for Negotiating More Rationally – In past articles, we have highlighted a variety of psychological biases that affect negotiators, many of which spring from a reliance on intuition. Of course, negotiators are not always affected by bias; we often think systematically and clearly at the bargaining table. Most negotiators believe they are capable of distinguishing between situations in which they can safely rely on intuition from those that require more careful thought – but often they are wrong. In fact, most of us trust our intuition more than evidence suggests that we should
Which negotiation principle is most important to you? Let us know in the comments..
Claim your FREE copy: Negotiation Skills
Build powerful negotiation skills and become a better dealmaker and leader. Download our FREE special report, Negotiation Skills: Negotiation Strategies and Negotiation Techniques to Help You Become a Better Negotiator, from the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School.
Adapted from “Ethics and Negotiation” by Michael Wheeler for the March 2004 issue of the Negotiation newsletter.
Thank you very much for your daily blog. It is always interesting. According to Ethics and Negotiation, I try to keep in mind the fact that the world is really small and that at any time I could meet my opposant in negotiation. So, I also keep in mind that I would be able to look at him in his eyes, calmly, sincerely, frankly, even if sometimes we desagreed strongly. I should never have to change my course to avoid someone beacause I am not proud of the way I negociated.
A number of interesting ideas here, Michael.
You write: “After a failed negotiation, it’s tempting to construct a story about how the other side’s irrationality led to impasse.”
I think the obverse is also important. When you succeed, it is equally tempting to construct a story how rational you were.
thank you for encouraging me to be better trainer on negotiation