When negotiators talk about a score or winners and losers it’s an attempt to put language and understanding on an outcome that is often difficult to define. We try to use comparisons, but others in the negotiation don’t share our interests, nor do they measure the outcomes against the interest in the same way. In our culture that relies on scores and gamification to understand interactions, learn to set your self free from those restrictions in your negotiation. 

Don't let the outcome take care of itself. Be strategic in the way you approach outcomes in your negotiation. Be aware of things that stand in the way of creative outcomes, and be courageous in working toward those outcomes. 

Business and life depend on trust. In today's online, connected world building trust is a more difficult proposition. It takes deliberate, consistent actions to build trust, but just a small problem to cause suspicion. This episode will help you develop a strategic approach to building trust and managing suspicion.

Relationships are important to achieving more in society.With- out a relationship, there is no possibility for interdependence in the negotiation.

Power - those who don’t have it, want it. Those who do have it, want more. Power, when used to impact, change, or threaten, is almost universally negative. Power, when used correctly, can be very useful in guiding, educating, and increasing outcomes. This episode explores some different ideas for the use of power in negotiation.

We negotiate to achieve gains greater than we could alone. Each of us has resourcesfrom which we pull to achieve the outcomes in life that are important to us. However, if we want to maximize our gains, we need to also draw from the resources controlled by others. This exchange of resources is facilitated by working with others. We say “working with others” because the reality of interdependence is giving up control in the interaction. We need to be willing to relinquish control to others in order to achieve the gains that are possible. Interdependence means that neither party has dominance over the other. Those who enter the negotiation willing to share appropriate information, create value, and build the relationship are in a much more powerful position than those who are reticent to share information, don’t create value, and disregard the relationship.

While there’s nothing inherently wrong with being selfless, there is also the reality in life that we’re trying to achieve some outcome. Additionally, those with whom we negotiate are also trying to achieve an outcome. The competitive view of negotiation puts these outcomes at odds, producing a winner and a loser in the negotiation. So, how can negotiators balance getting their own outcome and benefitting the others in the negotiation, without it becoming an altruistic endeavor? This episode examines the thought process behind competitive versus collaborative negotiation and how to maximize gain, while benefitting others.

Collaboration is a motive in your actions, not a behavior. Most people would express a desire to be collaborative, but when faced with the reality of a negoti- ation situation research shows that they drop into a competitive mindset within five minutes of the start of the negotiation—regardless of the mindset they have entering the negotiation. Collaborative negotiation is the path to higher joint gains. Most people negotiate competitively to be sure that no one takes advantage of them. Why do negotiators think they are at risk of being exploited? It’s because they don’t have a clear idea of their interests, they are too focused on the positions in the negotiation, and they know they will have to give on the positions to achieve an outcome. Collaboration is the process of working with others to find the ways to increase outcomes for all involved.

There is a link between your cognition and your behavior – that is, what you think impacts what you do. If you think that you can control or impact your outcomes in the organization with the work that you do, that will impact your behavior. If you enter every negotiation with the desire to win, it can impact your behavior in ways that may not be evident. This episode examines the typical win motive and points to a better way.

This episode examines the offers and concessions that we prepare before the negotiation and how to strategically use those. This includes answering the question about making first offers, strategically using your reasons for negotiating to open up creative outcomes, and using those reasons appropriately to achieve the best outcome.