Negotiation Innovation

We are often faced with a decision between different paths that are equally valid. Oftentimes in negotiation, these decisions are choices between people and profits. How do we make decisions so that we don't harm our reputation or harm other parties to the negotiation, while maintaining our ethics and achieving our outcome? In this episode, I will give you a framework for thinking about these decisions and some guidance on principles to make the best decision.

Negotiations are complex interactions. One question that I get asked often is how to gain the upper hand in negotiation, either to take advantage of the complexity, or reduce it. This is sometimes about power, or resources, or information - but it's always about leveraging that against others in the negotiation to get what you want. This episode examines that in light of the research on power and entitlement.

Right now is an opportunity to positively impact your reputation in your social and business community. It just takes some faith and some understanding of the psychology behind decision-making. Don't make panic decisions. Understand what's behind your decisions and benefit everyone in your circle.

Negotiations are tough enough to do well, without even thinking about measuring outcomes. Many times we spend a lot of effort getting the preparation right, just to get to the outcome and wonder if it was good enough. This leaves us with the less than reliable measure of happiness with the outcome. This episode is focused on developing measures that are reliable, objective, and reproducible.

Win-Win has long been the rhetoric used to describe successful negotiation that take multiple parties' outcomes into consideration. Win-Win has shortcomings that become evident in long-term negotiations. In this episode I'll give you some evidence for a better, more successful negotiation strategy. This strategy, Joint-Gain Negotiation, takes Win-Win and builds on it to provide better outcomes, better relationships, and better reputations. Joint-Gain negotiation will allow you to achieve your goals and keep your integrity intact.

Can you make better offers in negotiation? What makes some offers better than others? In this episode we focus on the timing, the content, and the focus of offers in negotiation. I also talk about ways to constructively control the narrative in your negotiations.

Can you afford to apply (Christian) ethics to your negotiations in today's competitive business world? Can you afford not to...? In this episode I give you some food for thought about how to apply your ethics and morality to your everyday interactions. The content is applicable regardless of your religious stance.

In every interaction we have a choice about perspective-taking and empathy with the others involved. There are clear benefits to trying to understand what's important to others involved in the interaction. One of the most powerful ways to facilitate empathy and perspective-taking in your negotiations is by building and valuing relationships. This episode examines the power of relationships, and some strategies for building those relationships.

Lying in negotiation is a pervasive problem. In this episode I address whether you should lie to protect your interests (you should not, for some very good reasons), and how to deal with negotiators that are lying to you.