Vantage Partners, a negotiation insights firm, emphasizes the importance of looking at negotiation styles within organizations, rather than just on an individual level. They believe that if organizations can improve their negotiation skills across the board, the impact can be significant. Negotiation is seen as a problem-solving process that requires preparation and execution, rather than a list of tactics to memorize.
Harvard teaches the “Seven Elements of Negotiation” model, which has become widely adopted in various institutions, including law schools and business schools. Co-founder of Vantage Partners, Roger Fisher, has written a book on this model, emphasizing the importance of preparation in negotiations. When it comes to improving negotiation results on a company-wide level, Vantage Partners believes that the entire negotiation system needs to be addressed, rather than just focusing on individual negotiation skills.
A negotiation system, as defined by Vantage Partners, includes four critical elements. Firstly, there should be a company-wide definition of success, with incentives aligned to serve the company’s best interests. Secondly, there should be a clear negotiation process in place, starting with defining the negotiator’s mandate and involving relevant stakeholders in the preparation. Negotiation knowledge, in terms of leveraging information effectively, and skills and mindset of negotiators are also key components of a successful negotiation system.
Organizations often have a wealth of information that can be leveraged to inform negotiation strategy and problem-solving. Simple tools such as deal databases and playbooks can help in this process, along with the sharing of knowledge within the organization. Training and improving the skills of negotiators is important, but equally important is ensuring that their mindset aligns with the company’s negotiation strategy. Without buy-in from managers and alignment with training frameworks, individual negotiators may not implement the skills effectively.
Implementing a negotiation system within an organization can lead to creating more value in negotiations with customers, partners, and suppliers. By improving negotiation capabilities and consistently creating smarter deals, organizations can see tangible and lasting value. Vantage Partners believes that by seeing negotiation through a different lens and focusing on the entire negotiation system, companies can achieve better results across all their negotiations. It is through this approach that companies can truly enhance their negotiation capabilities and drive success in their business dealings.
