Don’t Negotiate…Facilitate

By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth

There are many that would say negotiation is just part of doing business, and that you cannot be successful as an executive or entrepreneur without becoming a great negotiator. So my question to you is this: Are you a great negotiator? To be considered a savvy negotiator is to be held in high esteem in the world of business, and in some circles is worn as a proud badge of honor. If you possess a reputation as a shrewd negotiator you are feared in the board room as an adversary to be reckoned with. While many a consultant, author and trainer have made personal fortunes teaching the finer points of negotiation, it is my belief that if you find yourself negotiating you have already missed the boat. In today’s post I’ll share why negotiation is inherently flawed as a business practice… 

While I have mediated labor disputes, closed nine-figure transactions, verbally sparred with street vendors from Mexico to Dubai, put multi-lateral international agreements together, have been married for 25 years, and have raised two children, I don’t consider myself a great negotiator. I do however consider myself to be an excellent facilitator who attempts at all costs never to negotiate. 

As I stated in the opening paragraph if you find yourself negotiating you’ve already lost. Negotiating is not an art to be mastered, rather it is a sloppy approach to be avoided. If you find yourself negotiating you will find yourself posturing, spinning, manipulating, being slick and even deceitful. Negotiation by its nature is a zero-sum game (my gain is your loss). In other words, the goal at the outset of a negotiation is to benefit from someone else’s loss, which I find to be an unacceptable premise for doing business.

Sure, there are those who say that win-win scenarios are altruistic fantasies that don’t exist, but I’m here to tell you that all good deals are in fact win-win scenarios. Negotiation is adversarial, and I’m all about expanding relationships and spheres of influence, not shrinking them by creating enemies. When I’ve wrapped-up a deal with someone I want them to be excited about doing business with me again, as opposed to spending hours in reflective thought regretting the day we met. When I hear someone reminisce about the great deal they just negotiated all I can think of is, will the deal stick, and even if it does get traction, what about the bad taste left in the mouth of the other party? While it may seem tempting to exploit the immediacy of a situation or circumstance, the long-term consequences of such actions are detrimental to your reputation and credibility.

My clients don’t hire me to stick-it to someone, but rather to facilitate a desirable outcome that achieves a stated objective, while reflecting well on their brand and adding value for all concerned parties. So, if you don’t negotiate what do you do? Look to create opportunities for others, to add-value, to align interests, to understand needs, to facilitate, enable, educate, and to inform. Don’t be lazy and trick somebody just because you’re smart and you can…rather be a professional, do your homework and help people attain their goals & objectives. It is more fun, more rewarding, and definitely more profitable…What say you?