Negotiation skills and the 10 negotiating powers: the fundamental role of lateral thinking
Lateral thinking and the 10 Negotiating Powers…
Does anyone doubt that men and women are sometimes different, or that they sometimes see the world differently? Has anyone experienced how men and women can sometimes have different perceptions of the same event? Can anyone seriously argue that men and women sometimes approach relationships very differently? So why is this? And why is this even remotely relevant in the context of trading?
In order to negotiate effectively, we need to use both sides of our brain. Left-brained people focus on logic, math, rational thinking, and black-and-white thinking. Approximately 90% of the men in the world are dominated by the left side of the brain. Right-brained people focus on intuition, emotion, and creativity. Approximately 90% of the women in the world are dominated by the right side of the brain. To be effective negotiators, we must become lateral thinkers by learning to use both sides of our brain.
After spending more than 30 years negotiating deals around the world, and after researching Nelson Mandela’s approach in his landmark negotiations with the apartheid government of South Africa, I identified 10 bargaining powers. These 10 Powers reveal the fundamental role of lateral thinking in the negotiation process by highlighting that negotiators need both left and right brain skills. You will notice that some require efficient left brain skills and others require efficient right brain skills. But, to bring all the Powers together, negotiators require a combination of both.
These are the 10 Powers:
• The power to understand that a negotiation is a process.
• The power of preparation.
• The power of positioning.
• The power of common sense and logic.
• The power of dignity, sympathy, humility and humor.
• The power of truth and justice.
• The power of observation – to listen and see.
• The power of morality, courage and attitude.
• The power of patience.
• The power to walk away.
The benefits of lateral thinking…
Because lateral thinkers are people who have the ability to use both the left and right sides of their brain, they have a significantly greater understanding of human behavior than non-lateral thinkers. Not only do they see unusual patterns of behavior that others might miss, but they also have a more nuanced and layered sense of what’s going on around them. Because of this, they also see more options for problem solving and have far superior problem solving skills than those who are not lateral thinkers.
And because the negotiation process is about identifying the problems that each party hopes to solve, identifying the problems and seeking different options and approaches to solve those problems are at the very heart of any successful negotiation.
Lateral thinking and empathy…
Nelson Mandela’s negotiation skills and experiences highlight the enormous importance of looking at every negotiation through the eyes of those with whom you are negotiating. He saw the enormous advantages that this can present on many different levels in a negotiation. His life is a remarkable window into his lateral thinking abilities. It is quite fascinating how he honed these skills during his lifetime and how he used them in his negotiations with the South African government.
When it comes to being able to see the world through the eyes of the other side, empathy is the name of the game. While it can be tempting to argue, using left-brain skills, that a position the other party is taking is “logical” or “illogical” or “black and white,” almost invariably right-brain skills are much more revealing. . and useful. Clearly, to get inside someone’s head we need to tap into their emotional state and understand it. We need to tap into whatever intuitive skills we can muster. In doing so, we realize the enormous advantages most women have over those of us who are efficiently left-brain oriented.
This is why we have to develop both left and right brain skills, or we have to build negotiation teams that possess these skills.
How Lateral Thinking Exposes the Risk of Trading Alone…
I have accepted that I am a left-brained person efficiently. I consider myself logical and rational, perhaps excessively. I’ve also always accepted the problem this almost inevitably creates, and the opportunities I might lose as a result. Therefore, I have accepted the absolute necessity of working on the functionality of my right brain. Unfortunately, what I have sometimes found is that when I began to focus on developing my right brain, I often found myself looking away from the functionality of my left brain. I needed to find a solution to this, and I did.
I decided that whenever possible, I would never trade alone. Instead, I wanted the smartest right-brain negotiator I could find by my side, as well as the smartest left-brain negotiator to keep me focused. I would have to gather around me the smartest right-brained and left-brained people I could find. And because 90% of women are right-brain dominant, that’s where I would look for the right-brain part of my team.
As highlighted in the 10 Negotiating Powers, negotiators should keep their eyes on my different balls simultaneously. And because they have to watch and listen to the other side’s negotiating team, and particularly when that team is sometimes quite large, it’s almost impossible to do it alone. Having a team of left and right brain negotiators watching, listening and evaluating what is going on is a huge advantage and will always produce a better outcome than handling this alone.
So don’t be proud, folks. Assemble a team of the most skilled lateral thinkers you can find…