Negotiation

Negotiation can be and has been defined in various ways. A definition that I quite like is from Leigh Thompson, a professor at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University: "An interpersonal decision-making process necessary whenever we cannot achieve our goals alone." Before, during, and after a negotiation process, several decisions need to be made: from values, deadlines, and the team that will negotiate, to how to react to unforeseen events, how much to b

Lessons from Roger Fisher, Daniel Shapiro and William Ury. Our emotions influence us both positively and negatively. They provoke thoughts, physiological changes and push us to act. Emotions often influence our speech, actions, and decisions without us realizing it. “Don’t make promises when you are happy; don’t argue when you’re angry; do not make decisions when you're sad,” says popular wisdom. We cannot avoid emotions or ignore them. Analyzing each emotion as it arises i

When asked in an online mentoring session how to decide whether to continue in a position or accept a job offer, a friend of mine who is an entrepreneur, mentor, consultant, and advisor highlighted one aspect of her response: Watch your ego. And she is correct. The ego is a poor guide and a terrible counselor. It is all too easy to confuse an inflated ego with self-confidence. Self-awareness is key for understanding how to make this distinction. Self-confidence comes from wit

(Photo: Kylie Osullivan on Unsplash) The NBA, the American basketball league, has many inspiring stories that teach us a lot about personal development: how to be more resilient, more courageous, and more focused. One of them involves two of the greatest players in NBA history: Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan. Despite being of different generations, Kobe was born in 1978 and Jordan in 1963; these two myths came to face each other on the NBA courts as Kobe began his profession

If you are an introvert, you usually need to expend a lot of energy to be in groups, talk in public, be more assertive, and show yourself. There are several helpful strategies for saving and utilizing your energy more effectively, and thereby managing and using your introversion as an ally. The first is to save energy on other things so you can focus on what you know will take up a lot from you. Take a few minutes alone, relax, and review the important points you need to get

The English magazine The Economist published yesterday, April 12, 2023, the article “Jonathan Powell on preparations for peace-making in Ukraine – Tony Blair’s former chief-of-staff says lessons from the Good Friday Agreement can help bring peace.” Jonathan Powell was the head of the negotiations that led to the Belfast Agreement (or Good Friday agreement) that ended decades of bloody conflict in Northern Ireland. He was also part of the team of negotiators who worked with Pr

Negotiation requires preparation and planning. A strategy-only approach to planning is insufficient. It is necessary to prepare for the exchanges and conversations that occur during each negotiation round, whether via text, voice calls, video call platforms, or face-to-face. Preparing for conversations involves the use of several communication techniques. Among them is a powerful tool that is often overlooked: silence. It's fascinating to observe the dynamics of our conversat

In negotiation, there are three types of power. The power of position, which is an implicit power to a specific position or titles and the influence that the person who occupies them has on the course of conversations and negotiations. This form of power is static, that is, there is not much we can do about it, after all, we cannot stop talking and negotiating with our hierarchical superiors and authorities, right? Psychological power is another type of power. It's the way yo

This is a topic that always sparks heated debate and has been the subject of numerous studies. Some argue that making the first offer is not advantageous for two main reasons: The first is that when you make the first offer, you indirectly transmit a lot of information. The other side can infer the ZOPA - Zone of Possible Agreement - that you calculated and, as a result, the accuracy of your information after hearing your proposal. The second and most important point is that