Consensus Blog

If you’re looking for a light read about negotiating, The One Minute Negotiator (Berret-Koehler, 2010) might be a good option.

This latest book in the “The One Minute” series sets out to cure “negotiaphobia” , a phenomenon that causes people to avoid negotiating.  Authors Don Hutson and George Lucas use a narrative to present a 4-step negotiation process and to introduce four negotiation “strategies”.

First, the good things:

• The authors present a clear 2×2 negotiation matrix that tracks negotiation-behaviors along two axis: level of proactiveness and level of collaboration.  It is a novel and informative way of analyzing negotiation.

• They very effectively use parables and metaphors to make their ideas come alive and keep the reader engaged – this is anything but a boring textbook that presents theoretical constructs without examples.

• There are some very good points made (although some are presented in such an understated way that they could go overlooked).  The ideas about when to implement each of the four “strategies” are worthy of analysis and consideration.

• The book includes an interesting self-diagnostic tool for understand one’s own negotiation-behavioral tendencies.

Unfortunately the book lacks depth.  The “strategies” presented are more akin to behaviors than approaches or tactics.  Moreover, even if the reader accepts them as strategies, the authors fail to provide robust descriptions or prescriptive advice on how to implement them.  For example, while they cite collaboration as a strategy, they don’t go into any detail on what they mean by collaboration nor do they offer any guidance on how to achieve collaboration.  A reader might be left feeling as though the authors lack extensive, firsthand negotiation experience from which they can draw.

Nevertheless, The One Minute Negotiator would be a good companion to other negotiation books, especially if you are looking for a book that can be read quickly and in spurts (a great subway read).  It points out some of the practical limitations of some popular negotiation theories, and, for that alone, is a good addition to one’s library.  However, in the absence of a comprehensive understanding of those theories and practice in their application, this book might miss its mark for someone looking to improve their negotiations.

One Minute Negotiator, Don Hutson, George Lucas, Ken Blanchard, Negotiator, Negotiation, Negotiating, Negotiation Book

We’ve all heard about the importance of non-verbal messages in communication. After all, who hasn’t heard that if you stand with your arms crossed, you seem closed and unapproachable?!

Unfortunately, while most of us recognize its magnitude, few really know any details beyond the general topic. Moreover, despite the profound impact that it has on all of our interpersonal interactions, few have received any instruction on how to use non-verbal cues to inspire, influence, build trust, and forge relationships.

Instead of simply getting by with what you’ve done up until now, you might want to read What Your Body Says (Wiley, 2010), an instructional guide on non-verbal communication. With a focus on gestures, author Sharon Sayler presents concrete tools for communicating more effectively. She not only describes the gestures (which are accompanied by illustrations to ensure clarity for reader), but shares step-by-step advice for implementing them in various contexts to accomplish different objectives.

While Sayler underscores that the purpose of the book is to improve the readers’ ability to convey messages more effectively and not the ability to better read others, the latter is a natural byproduct. She organizes her thoughts into four gesture categories relating to communication objectives (i.e., building rapport, conveying location, teaching, and influencing), and tackles each individually with specific advice.

What Your Body Says is not only a great read. It can positively impact your professional and personal life, as well.

What Your Body Says, Sharon Sayler, Non-Verbal Cues, Communication

The Power of a Positive No (Bantam, 2007) is a recommended read for any negotiator.  It’s an easy-to-follow guide on how to improve one’s ability to balance power and relationship concerns when pressed to say “no” to a counterpart.

In his seminal book, Getting to Yes (Penguin, 1983), Ury and his co-authors identified a tension commonly felt by negotiators, namely the challenge of “exercising power” and “tending to the relationship”, assuming that one compromises the other.  Generally, people tend to either accommodate (by saying yes, even if they want to say no), attack (by saying no poorly), or avoid (by saying nothing at all).  He offered a framework for balancing that tension and, in so doing, for achieving superior negotiated outcomes.

In his most recent book, Ury provides even more insight into balancing that tension.  He shows the reader how to leverage both power and one’s relationship with a counterpart during a confrontation, in short, by using what he introduces as a Positive No.  The book is organized into a practical framework consisting of three overarching stages – preparing, delivering, and following through on a Positive No – with each being further subdivided into smaller bits of advice that are highlighted through practical, real-life examples.

By reading The Power of a Positive No, negotiators can expect to be in a better position to obtain what they want, protect what they value most, and avoid the pitfalls of agreeing to things that are not in their interest.

Power of No, William Ury, Getting to Yes

If there’s one book that we would recommend to all of our Training & Development clients, it might be Built to Win, by Movius and Susskind (Harvard Business Press, 2009).

Essentially, the book suggests that, if you want to have a world-class negotiating organization, you must consider negotiation a core competency of your institution.  This entails going beyond developing the skills of individual contributors (which certainly is part of the recipe).  It also involves identifying and addressing systemic factors.  It requires a robust, customized solution instead of a one-size-fits-all, off-the-shelf intervention.

Based on our work with hundreds of clients, we find that the organizations that negotiate best – which we define as both attaining maximally beneficial terms and maintaining healthy working relationships and a positive reputation – adopt a comprehensive approach to improvement.  We help them address capabilities at the macro level through organizational development, such as assessment and improvement of their culture, communication channels, policies, etc.  We also help them address capabilities at the micro level through customized workshops at all levels and across functional areas, as well as individualized executive coaching (for executives and non-executives, alike).  Last, we provide reinforcement initiatives – ranging from dedicated online discussion boards to facilitated monthly webcasts – and follow-on solutions to help support ongoing development and improvement.

While customized, interactive negotiation training helps, the multidimensional approach outlined in Built to Win and practiced at our firm provides an even higher return on investment to organizations that are serious about improving their negotiations.

Beyond Training, Hallam Movius, Lawrence Susskind, Program on Negotiation, Harvard Negotiation

After two wonderful years together, the time has come to say good-bye to Ericka Duroseau.

Ericka, who has been managing our daily operations since 2008, is realizing one of her life’s ambitions by relocating to Southern California.  We are excited on her behalf, and we wish her every success in life, professional and personal alike.

Ericka Duroseau, Consensus

As communication and relationship management professionals, it is curious that we have been operating a website with little means of two-way interaction. While the Internet has provided a forum for us to share information we choose with those who visit our site, we have not been tapping its power to capture their insights or to surface and address their questions and issues that matter most to them.

Well, that ends today!

We are very proud to launch the Consensus Blog – the first of two interactive sections of our website. Going forward, we will use our blog to share different types of information with our readers, including…

…commentary on negotiations, conflicts, and other interactions taking place in the public eye,

…recommendations of articles, books, and other resources related to our subject matter expertise,

….developments in the Consulting, Training & Development, and Peace Building arenas, and

…things going on at Consensus.

That said, the most valuable aspect of the blog will be the reader-supplied comments that you post. We strongly encourage your feedback, so please don’t hesitate to tell us what you think, including what types of postings you’d like to see from us.

In the weeks ahead we also will be launching the Consensus Forum, an interactive discussion board in which you can share your ideas and pose questions relating to the various aspects of relationship management (e.g., communication, influence, conflict management, etc.), professional development (e.g., training, executive coaching, organizational development, etc.), and international peace building. Even though Consensus will take part in these online dialogues, we anticipate that most of the content will be generated by fellow users, including other experts in the field.

Our hope is that our blog and forum – combined with our presence on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn – will help our friends, clients, and colleagues foster a valuable virtual community of folks interested in relationship management, professional development, and peace building.