Stanford Webinar - 5 Tips for Keeping Your Project on Track

Key Concepts:

• Negotiation as influence and collaborative problem-solving
• Interdependence in negotiation
• Understanding counterpart's interests and constraints
• Importance of planning and preparation
• Boundaries: Fallback position, tipping point, stretch goal
• Justifications and the power of the ask
• Scope creep and packaging
• Creating value through multiple issues
• Chunking complex issues

1. Redefining Negotiation:

• Main Point: Negotiation should be viewed as influence and collaborative problem-solving, not a battle.
• Details: Traditional view of negotiation as adversarial ("I'm going to try to get stuff from you that you don't want me to have") leads to misinterpreting counterpart's behaviors negatively.
• New Definition: Negotiation is about improving a situation for all parties involved through mutual influence and persuasion. It's a process where people decide what each is willing to give and get.
• Key Argument: By changing the mindset to collaborative problem-solving, you can create solutions where both you and your counterpart are better off.
• Quote: "Negotiation is influence. It's all about getting a decision that meets your needs better and maybe the needs of your counterparts as well."

2. Collaborative Problem Solving:

• Main Point: Negotiations are interdependent, requiring voluntary agreement.
• Details: Especially important when negotiating with superiors or peers.
• Strategy: Frame proposals as solutions to a problem that both parties share.
• Requirement: Understanding your counterpart's interests, preferences, challenges, and constraints.
• Emphasis: Creativity is needed to merge your interests with those of your counterpart to find mutually beneficial solutions.

3. Setting Boundaries:

• Main Point: Define boundaries to guide your negotiation strategy.
• Three Boundaries:
  • Fallback Position: What happens if you can't reach an agreement (your alternative to a negotiated agreement - BATNA).
  • Tipping Point: The worst outcome you'd be happy with (the point where you'd say yes).
  • Stretch Goal: A really good outcome given the situation.
• Importance: Stretch goals help you identify potential resources and outcomes that could significantly improve your projects.

4. Influence Through Justifications and the Power of the Ask:

• Main Point: Justifications and asking directly are powerful tools for influence.
• Classic Social Psychology Experiment (1977):
  • Researchers asked to cut in line at a copy machine using three strategies:
    1. Simple Ask: "May I use the copy machine?" (60% compliance)
    2. Reasonable Justification: "May I use the copy machine because I'm in a real rush?" (92% compliance)
    3. Stupid Justification: "May I use the copy machine because I need to make copies?" (91% compliance)
• Power of the Ask: People are often willing to accommodate requests, even from strangers.
• Underestimation: People underestimate how willing others are to help.
• Benefits of Asking: Gives the grantor a sense of agency and control.
• Importance of Justifications: Explaining why you're doing something increases compliance.
• Narrative: Justifications provide a story, mitigating resistance and shaping the narrative.
• TSA Line Example: People often stop listening after hearing the request ("May I cut in line because...") and have already made a decision.

5. Avoiding Scope Creep Through Packaging:

• Main Point: Address multiple issues simultaneously as a package to avoid scope creep and create value.
• Problem with Single-Issue Negotiation: Leads to yes/no, win/lose scenarios.
• Packaging Approach: Consider multiple issues together to find opportunities for trade-offs.
• Prioritization: Identify asymmetries – what's more important to you and less important to them, and vice versa.
• Benefits: Allows for extracting additional resources as the project scope expands.
• Chunking: Break down complex negotiations into smaller chunks (e.g., three issues at a time) to manage cognitive load.
• Re-evaluation: After agreeing to all chunks, re-evaluate the entire package to ensure it still makes sense given changing circumstances.

6. Five Tips for Improved Negotiation Outcomes:

1. Shift Perspective: From negotiation as battle to collaborative problem-solving.
2. Know Your Boundaries: Understand your goals and what you can and can't accommodate.
3. Understand the Environment: Be aware of the context in which you're operating.
4. Leverage the Power of the Ask: Ask for what you want, and use justifications.
5. Package: Use multi-issue negotiations to create value.

7. Recommended Resources:

• Influence by Robert Cialdini
• Getting More of What You Want by Margaret A. Neale
• gettingmoreofwhatyouwant.com (website with articles, podcasts, and videos)

8. Q&A Insights:

• Balancing the Ask with Organizational Constraints: Understand your counterpart's interests and constraints. Be creative in finding resources and framing your ask to benefit the organization.
• Getting Better at Packaging: Plan expansively, considering all available resources. Prioritize and identify potential trade-offs.
• The "No" Gate: Some leaders use initial rejection as a test of commitment. Persist strategically, providing justifications and demonstrating the value of your request.

9. Synthesis/Conclusion:

The key takeaways are to shift your mindset from adversarial negotiation to collaborative problem-solving, understand your boundaries and your counterpart's interests, leverage the power of asking with justifications, and use packaging to create value and avoid scope creep. Strategic planning, creativity, and persistence are essential for successful negotiation and influence.