Three simple negotiation rules

I have a shelf full of books on negotiation, all promising to change my life. But sometimes you find a simple rule set that really helps.

Recently I came across Larry Brilliant’s 3 rules of How to Negotiate. Google him if you’ve never heard of him, but they’re dead simple, and dead right:

A) Have more points to discuss than the other side.
In wanting a conclusion, it’s only too easy to run out of big things to talk about, and then the other side can start pressuring you for a close. If you’ve lots of points important to you, you always have another reason to call, more concessions to offer (make them small !), and stay centre stage right to the end.

B) Have a mathematical formula.
Invent a calculation that justifies your desired outcome. It will of course be high: not too scary, but definitely ballsy. Of course it will be challenged, and you can discuss the assumptions, the multipliers, the variables, and any qualifying factors. But your initial, calculated (and hopefully daringly high) start point anchors a value in peoples' minds, and stops them replacing your value with theirs.

C) Have alternative outcomes.
If you don’t have walk away options, you will lose out. If you're selling a business, have other financing or exit options. If you're selling products and services, work as hard as you can to build a full pipeline.

Handling interruptions

To keep costs down, I asked our receptionists one time if they could answer customer queries and complete simple documentation. I was taken aback when they said "No, definitely not". They were adamant that the constant interruptions from phone calls and visitors would result in errors, and they weren't prepared to do a bad job for me. They said: "If you don't believe us, do it yourself."

So I did, and sat on reception. And they were right: it was impossible to concentrate, and in 4 hours I completed one task only, when normally I'd have flown through dozens. It reminded me of my early days programming: if you lost your thread of thought, it took ages to get it back, and sometimes you'd lost a good idea for ever.

A recent article in Forbes magazine brought this all flooding back, as it described how you could measure interruptions. The quoted studies showed each time flow state is disrupted it takes fifteen minutes to get back into it, and that programmers who work in the top quartile of proper (ie uninterrupted) work environments are several times more productive than those who don’t.

To measure the Flow State Percentage, you need to ask workers to track for a few days how many hours each day are they in flow, divided by the number of total hours they’re at the office. And then brainstorm ways the team can move this number up. For example: a sign at each person’s desk that says “Please don't interrupt me, I’m in flow.” Or maybe you have periods where one person fields all calls. Or agree that for half a day, everyone turns off Outlook.

The modern disease of low attention spans is only made worse by smartphones picking up email. So why not just turn it off, and pick up email every 3-4 hours ? You'll feel less pressure, and suddenly you'll have more time to get things done.

Go on, just try it. Turn off your email, I dare you...

Motivating management

Money is a hygiene factor: get it wrong, and your employees can never get it off their minds. But once their money's about right, it ceases to be a motivator...so what is ?

Feedback, feedback, feedback, all the time. Tell people when you're pleased, in very specific terms. It's even more important to let them know when things aren't the way you want them. Remember the magic structure of feedback:

• What's working for me right now is...
• What's not working for me right now is....
• What's missing for me right now is...

Coach rather than direct: use the GROW model:

• Goals: Help them define them with questions: "How will you know the problem's solved ?"
• Reality: "Where are we now ? Who, what, when, how - how can you measure it ?"
• Options: "What choices do you have ? What if constraints were removed ? How will you weight up the options and choose the right thing to do ?"
• Will: "What will you do, and when ? What could stop you ? How exactly will you know when you've succeeded ?"

Communicate on a very regular basis: Show everyone the numbers, share your strategy, let them know the issues you feel strongly about, ask them for input where you're less certain. Do this every quarter without fail, but update everyone at least every month. Make sure they see how their work contributes to the greater good, and how important it is they co-ordinate their work and continually communicate themselves. Tell the truth. Don't airbrush difficulty; share it - you'll be amazed how many of your team want things to be better too.

Enjoy yourself, and have fun. Company competitions, raffles, contests, Performer of the Quarter, Mistake of the Month, Best Quote of the Week awards all add to making things feel less like work.

I recently read an article where it recommended taking an employee to lunch once a week: not a bad shout, this. They get a hour or two of uninterrupted time with you, and you get chance to relax a little for an hour.

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