Following on from the ‘Developing a strategy in business series’ it became evident that guidance on stakeholder negotiation would be a useful accompaniment. This article sets out a means of improving negotiating capabilities in order to deliver more beneficial, equitable, and more durable agreements between stakeholders. It assumes that the intention is to obtain the most benefit for all parties in the negotiation, striking an objectively fair deal.
- A stakeholder is an individual or organisation that has a ‘stake’ in the outcome of an agreement
- The stake is a change in the good already obtained - positive or negative - and the stakeholder may be passive or active with regard to the material commitments they make
- If negotiating parties take up positions and then strive to meet on the middle-ground they are prone to surrendering objective fairness to a zero-sum contest, damaging their relationship for the future, and they risk leaving ‘stakes on the table’. The latter, because the focus is on attaining a position to which the parties agree rather than looking at what they truly value and working together to find creative options that attain the most benefits for all
- The principles required for more beneficial negotiation comprise the following:
- Separate the people from the problem and concentrate on finding options for agreement as a team
- Be objective with evidence based arguments - back up assertions and problem statements with information from sources that all agree are authoritative
- Understand what constitutes the alternative to a negotiated agreement, then use that as the baseline for improving on it
The preliminaries to any negotiation should include obtaining a close understanding of the stakeholders, particularly those actively participating in the proposed agreement. It is imperative to understand their goals, accountabilities, constraints, and reasoning and for this understanding to be shared with all participants as far as possible.
Rather than surrendering asymmetrical informational advantages this, perhaps counterintuitively, improves the chances of a more beneficial deal for all parties. Furthermore, establishing codes of behaviour that promote transparency and remove asymmetrical, coercive pressures (personal, cultural, or just tactical) provides a framework and approach for managing difficult discussions and even intransigence.
If a negotiated agreement is better than leaving things to run their course, the best approach is principled negotiation.
Bibliography:
‘Getting to Yes: Negotiating an agreement without giving in’ (Roger Fisher, William Ury, and Bruce Patton, published by Houghton and Mifflin). The Harvard Negotiation Project.
‘The Person and the Situation: Perspectives of Social Psychology’ (Lee Ross , Richard E. Nisbett , et al. published by Pinter and Martin)