Golden Rule of Negotiation, Part I
Robert Menard, Certified Purchasing Professional, Certified Professional Purchasing Consultant
Editor’s note: this is Part I of a two part series. Part I identifies the Golden Rule of Negotiation and Part II explains how to apply it.
People drawn to the purchasing profession do not generally come equipped with a bevy of interpersonal skills. Most toiled in related technical and scientific (process oriented) pursuits such as accounting, engineering, and production where success depended more on individual resourcefulness and creativity. Then the good fortune arose to be assigned to purchasing. Put another way, the reward for previous success was a sentence to purchasing. In purchasing, the manageable processes are replaced by unpredictable people.
Golden Rule of Negotiation
To conquer the interpersonal beast, pruchasing pros must master the Golden Rule of Negotiation. The more familiar biblical golden rule sets forth unassailably sound morality about personal interactions. “Do unto other as you would have done unto you,” is timeless advice.
Click for Bob's 3 CD set
Personal interaction in negotiation settings however, is more intellectual than physical. As such, we must modify the golden rule to suit. Our modification on the theme sets a stage more conducive to negotiation; by recognizing that intellectual messages are a lot more subtle that physical messages. The Golden Rule of Negotiation is “Do unto others as they would have done unto themselves.”
Practical vs. Theoretical
Negotiation is far more practical that theoretical. As a practical matter most people prefer the company of those who are similar than of those who are different. We are more comfortable with those who share our values, our beliefs and our general view of life. In a fashion similar to our prejudice toward extremists, we doubt and fear the view of the world exhibited by those who have personality types different from ours. By using an open mind, we can turn that inherent disadvantage into a strategic advantage in negotiation.
Sales training instills the concept of buying motivations early in the process. Sellers are taught that no one buys unless they judge the purchase to be in their best interest and that the buyer’s question they must answer is, “What’s In It For Me (WIIFM)?”
We speak in negotiation of making an intelligence estimate of the other side. Sellers do this by anticipating the buyers’ WIIFM questions. This preparation helps in evaluating the do-ability of the deal, establishing High Initial Demands (HID’s), and concessions.
We still must deal with the people and personality issues, overcome communication barriers, and observe the Golden Rule of Negotiation. We concern ourselves here with a mastery of personality styles and how they relate to effective communication.
There is much more information available on this topic in other posts on this blog. Here are four closely related stories.
Knowledge of Personality Helps to Manage Conflict
The Power of Influence, Part II