Getting to Yes; Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In”
Introduction
“Getting to Yes; Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In” is a New York bestselling 1981 non-fiction book by Roger Fisher and William L. Ury. The book has been subsequently edited in 1991 and 2011 which saw Bruce Patton added as the co-author. This book can be summed up as the work of three authors, all Harvard professors who put down practical tips and techniques acquired through the work of the Harvard negotiation project group that deals with negotiation and conflict resolution at all levels. The book has become a classic read for any novice interested in learning the art of business negotiation skills. However, it is important for the reader to note that the theory has not remained static. It is also important to consider that negotiation itself has evolved as the result of the rapid changes happening in the business world. The Fisher and Ury negotiation methodology oppose the fixed-pie mentality that sits predominately in much of peoples negotiating cultures. The reason many deals fail is because the participants could not see the big picture since the participants of a negotiation are too much focused-on wining the negotiation instead of having a mutual profitable deal. “Getting to Yes” presents a framework on how parties in a negotiation can all get better outcomes while maintaining and improving the existing business relationships.
As always, a good negotiation should be efficient, amicable and should be able to deliver constructive outcomes. In most cases most individuals utilize positioning bargaining which involves extreme position which pushes them to negotiate towards a compromise and as a result ego-based results are achieved, and relationships end up being strained and destroyed (Fisher,et al, 9). These two authors put emphasis on a principled negotiation. In a principled negotiation the first important thing is to view all the participants as problem solvers rather than adversaries. According to the book the first step of a principled negotiation is to separate the people from the problem (Fisher,et al, 8). Humans are prone to emotions, their own interests and goals and often tend to look at the world from their own perspective. Getting to Yes has outlined a variety of tools for dealing with problems arising as a result of human perception, emotions and communication. These authors stress that the best option to prevent these problems are “Building a working relationship” and “Facing the problem, not the people” (Fisher,et al, 10). Incase a negotiation feels like a “you versus them” the authors suggest a few options including; “Raise the issue with the other side explicitly”.
The second step of a principled negotiation is to shift the focus and not the positions. These authors use a simple example of two men having an argument in a library, one of the men prefers the window closed while the other man prefer the window opened. The librarians intervene and questions the reason why the first man wants the window closed and he answered to avoid a draft, this was a self-centered interest. The second man answered that the reason he wanted the window opened is to get fresh air, this was also a self-centered interest, after consideration the librarian opens a window in the next room, bringing in fresh air without a draft. Both these men are on opposite sides, the important thing is focusing on how the needs of these two can be fulfilled and more often than not the solution is found by focusing on interests and from that a creative solution can be found. The third step of a principled negotiation is inventing options for mutual gain (Fisher,et al, 32). From the opinions of the authors the most common problem in negotiations is that there are a few options to choose from and often participants in a negotiation spend little time creating options which is a grave mistake (Fisher,et al, 40). In seeking opinion, it is important to search for a mutual gain since a principled negotiation cannot be based on “I win” and “you lose”.
The fourth step is insisting the use of an objective criteria, principled negotiations should not be viewed as battles that require winning. The goal of a principled argument is to produce an amicable and efficient argument. The use of an objective criterial helps in eliminating emotions in a discussion and allows the involved parties to apply logic and reason. Once an objective criterion has been developed, it needs to be discussed and the first guideline provided by the author is “Frame each issue as a joint search for objective criteria.” And “Never yield to pressure” (Fisher,et al, 52). In other instances, provided by the book sometimes one party is more powerful than the other party in a negotiation. In this case it is important to protect oneself from making an agreement that they should reject and second the lesser powerful party should use the assets at hand to reach a satisfying argument. There is no way to better protect oneself than familiarizing oneself with one’s BANTNA. To develop a BATNA the steps involved include drafting a list of actions one might take is the desired agreement is not reached, improving promising ideas and converting them into practical alternatives and lastly selecting carefully the opinion that seems like the best.
The other participant can choose to play dirty and to deal with this type of tactics the authors recommend the development of options that can result in mutual gains (Common Outlook Consulting Inc, n.p). Also, if the other participants refuse to play their share role in a principled negotiation the authors suggest that one should consider bringing a third party on board as the last resort (Common Outlook Consulting Inc, n.p). According to the authors that what goes into a principled negotiation is common sense. Lastly, the authors remind the readers that the first thing they are trying to win is a better way to negotiate.
Inconclusion, Getting to Yes is a work of three Harvard professors who present a well-structured framework on how to hold a principled negotiation and how to get the best mutual outcomes from an argument. There are four steps on how to approach a principled negotiation, these authors also present approaches that can be used to hold a principled negotiation with parties who are not willing to engage and parties using tricks in a negotiation. The work of these three authors has clearly laid instructions and guidelines that can be implemented to fulfil the interest of participants in a negotiation and strengthen business relationships.
Works Cited
"Getting To Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In | Common Outlook Consulting Inc.." Common Outlook Consulting Inc. N.p., 2019. Web. 27 Nov. 2007.
Fisher, Roger, William Ury, and Bruce Patton. Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving in. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1991. Print.
