Negotiation Class Notes

I’ve carried a bag, in some fashion, for twenty-plus years on the road. Cities large, small, and somewhere in-between. A few short years into my career, I dragged myself through an MBA program over the weekends and developed a mantra that stuck with me: Better done than good, put your ideas on paper. So, I did. And in that spirit, these were notes from a negotiation class I jotted down and tossed aside only to be found years later. What you put done comes back to you. Unfinished. Nothing like Getting to Yes or more refined books. Still, I thought these simple nuggets were worth keeping:

• All Negotiations Have Structure: It’s important to build coalitions and identify structure in any negotiation.
• Structure Shapes Strategy: Be flexible, carefully assess potential outcomes. Never say no.
• Structure Can Be Shaped: Constantly give action times, give, and take exercise. With more items on the table, it’s easier to come to an agreement.
• Process and Control: Frame arguments and approach people in the right order.
• Channeling: Use action-forcing events: meetings, calendar year. Important to find shared interests.
• Lead: Constantly be learning.