Principled Negotiating

Principled negotiation is a concept that is based on the book Getting to Yes by Roger Fisher and Bill Ury. This approach to negotiation focuses on the interests of the parties and emphasizes conflict management and conflict resolution.

Because the goal of principled negotiation is to find a mutually shared outcome, it is sometimes referred to as “win-win”. This represents a very different approach from the stereotypical view of a tough negotiation where one party will inevitably lose, while the other wins. (A win-win negotiation is one where the agreement cannot be improved by further discussions. There is no value left on the table and all creative options have been thoroughly explored.)

If we delve into principled negotiation in more detail, we find that there are four central guidelines to the approach:

1. Separate people from the problem being negotiated. Issues should be decided on their merits, rather than being influenced by emotions or by the individuals who are involved.
2. Focus on the negotiating parties’ interests, not their positions. The underlying interests or motivations that drive individuals in a negotiation are often quite similar. By focusing on interests, the parties may see that they are not as opposed as they thought they were initially. Any discussion about interests should offer concrete and specific details. This makes the interests more real and credible.
3. Generate different options for mutual gain. Sometimes people will focus too narrowly when generating ideas. For example, they may judge the ideas during a brainstorming session, rather than simply proposing ideas and evaluating them later. Alternatively, parties may limit their focus to their own immediate interests. This stifles options that have appeal to all involved in the negotiation.
4. Base the outcome from a principled negotiation session on objective criteria. For example, if two parties are involved in the purchase and sale of a house, certain objective criteria might be applied to the price, such as the recent sale prices of comparable homes in the area, adjustments for depreciation, or the opinion of an independent appraiser.

Principled negotiation is not right for all situations

The principled negotiation approach is most popular among academics and mediators. It is not often used in business negotiations. It is important to bear in mind that compromise is not the same as win-win. In a compromise situation, both parties make some sacrifices to find an agreeable outcome. With win-win, both parties achieve their desired outcomes, but neither sacrifices to do so.

Certain scenarios do not lend themselves to principled negotiation:

• Instances where one party assumes a competitive strategy and is focused on winning at the other party’s expense.
• Situations where negotiation involves a widely available commodity product that is either inexpensive or does not play a strategic role in the business.