Section One: Lessons Learned from Class and Negotiations

Align interests. In order to gain willingness to compromise between counterparts, you

must determine their needs and what is most important to them. In the Connecticut Valley
School negotiation, we reached an optimal agreement because all parties involved had a
frank discussion about their priorities and how we could address them. This method
engaged everyone in collective problem solving which led to a solution that accommodated
all interests.

Acknowledge power and use it. Some people misjudge the value of their power.
Generally, people look at themselves and think they have less power than the other side,
which can result in failing a negotiation or obtaining an undesirable outcome. In the
Connecticut Valley School negotiation, the teachers realized that they had significant
bargaining power over their counterparts and they were able to impose the projects they
wanted through this power and influence.

Relationships. Focusing solely on the outcomes and numbers during planning or

discussions, and ignoring your relationship with a counterpart can ruin a negotiation and
have dramatic consequences for future negotiation. In the job offer exercise, the employee
had to keep in mind that he was discussing his salary with his manager. He had to
recognize the importance of maintaining a virtuous relationship with her. To be successful,
it was necessary to select arguments appropriately. Asking for a better compensation
package required a deep reflection and an excellent preparation to reach an optimal
outcome.

Prioritization. In a negotiation, it’s important to set a list of priorities based on your needs
and the importance of terms you are discussing. Quantifying and evaluating different
concerns and goals is a powerful tool to establish an effective strategy. During the
preparation of Connecticut Valley School, each group ranked the projects that fulfilled each
party’s relevant role information. Prioritizing goals is important to reach a positive
outcome.

Section Two: Readings

“The Six Channels of Persuasion” - Channel #4: Rationality

In the Connecticut Valley Schools negotiation, rationality became a very present channel of
persuasion towards the end of our negotiation to reach an outcome. Although the Faculty Budget
Committee used emotion as a tactic to ensure their priority, the computer labs, would be renovated,
the Head of Schools implemented rationality to bring to everyone’s attention that all but two
projects could be completed under the given budget. Once the Head of Schools introduced this logic,
influencing both the Faculty Budget Committee and Board of Trustees became a very easy task and
we reached an outcome that we all agreed upon.

“This is Not a Game: Top Sports Agents Share Their Negotiation Secrets” - Perception is
Reality
In the Job Offer negotiation, Joe Tech really needed to focus on his potential contributions to
RR in order to support his position on the issue of an increased compensation package. In the
negotiation, he concentrated on his performance during his internship and how his internal
exposure to RR set him apart from other candidates. As stated in this reading, Joe’s role exemplified
the need to show he “exceeds the competition”. This tactic certainly was evident in the Job Offer
exercise and led to Joe securing more money than originally detailed in the offer letter.

Finding and Using Negotiation Power - Legitimate Power

In the Connecticut Valley Schools (CVS) negotiation, the Board of Trustees originally seemed to
have the most power due to their position in the organizational hierarchy. The Faculty Budget
Committee, however, wound up having the most power in this negotiation due to their role and
importance to CVS and the students. The Faculty Budget Committee had the power to be able to
walk away and essentially quit if they did not get the projects they wanted completed. Their
influence played a large role to reach the outcome. This showed that although you may have a
higher position in an organization than your counterpart, that isn't the only factor that contributes
to power within a negotiation.

“Taking the Stress out of Stressful Conversations” - Staying calm and redirecting
conversation
The Connecticut Valley Schools (CVS) negotiation, centered around a somewhat stressful
conversation. The faculty members went into it upset because they felt that they had not been
heard in the past, and felt that they needed to be heard and achieve the best outcome for
themselves and the students. They were very emotional on the subject and began “attacking” the
head of schools, and, primarily, the board of trustees. The Board of Trustees and Head of Schools
did a good job of managing the conversation by restating their intentions and questioning to lessen
the gap between communication and intent.

“Become a Master Negotiator” - Importance emotional intelligence

We have learned that to be a negotiator, you must be emotionally intelligent. In the Job Offer
negotiation, it was important to have self-motivation (Leigh’s need to recruit and desire to hire Joe
above all others), as well as patience with Joe. Leigh knew what she wanted, and in order to achieve
her end goal she had to remain patient with Joe.