the seven principles of breakthrough negotiation

The Seven Principles of Breakthrough Negotiation BY MICHAEL WATKINS & SUSAN ROSEGRANT The seven principles that follow represent an over- view of how breakthrough negotiators operate.

PRINCIPLE 1: BREAKTHROUGH NEGOTIATORS SHAPE THE STRUCTURE OF THEIR SITUATIONS. Breakthrough negotiators never view their negotiating situations as preordained or fixed. They understand that they cannot afFord to get mired down in reacting to counterparts' moves; they must shape their situations. So they work to mold the basic structure of the negotiation by involving the right people, controlling the issue agenda, creating link- ages that bolster their bargaining power, and channeling the flow of the process through time. They understand that actions taken

Michael Watkins is an associate professor of business administration at Harvard Business School i n Boston, where he teaches courses on negotiation and corporate diplomacy. Susan Rosegrant i s a case writer at the John F. Kennedy School of Govern- ment at Harvard University i n Cambridge Mass. This article i s adapted from "Breakthrough International Negotiation: How Great Negotiators Transformed the World's Toughest Post-Cold War Conflicts," Jossey- Bass (2001), @ 2001 by Michael Watkins and Susan Rosegrant. Adapted by permission of Jossey-Bass, a John %ley 81 Sons Co.

away from the negotiating table can be as im- portant as what goes on at the table, if not more so. See J. Sebenius, "Introduction to

team must cope with constraints on time, ex- pertise, money, data, and access to documents. Skilled negotiators therefore focus on con-

Negotiation Analysis: Structure, People, and Context," Harvard Business School Note 896-034 (1 996).

S@dy, skilled negotiators recognize that much ofwhat influ- ences outcomes takes place before the parties sit down across the table from each other. Even after negotiations begin, they continue to &pethestructureby moldingtheagenda, i n m ducing action-forcing events, and linking or delinlung negotiations. When based on clear-eyed analysis, adept efforts to shape the smcture of the game can have a powerfd impact on outcomes.

PRINCIPLE 2: BREAKTHROUGH N EGOTI AT0 RS ORGANIZE TO LEARN. Skilled negotiators learn by doing the necessary preparation to negotiate: they diagnose the essential features of the situation, fmil- iarize themselves with its history and context and with the record of prior negotiations, and probe the backgrounds and reputations of their counterparts. At the same time, they recognize that conventional prepatation has limi- tations Even the best-equipped negotiating

tinuing to learn at the negotiation table as they carefully gauge reactions and responses while testing hypotheses byask- ing questions and putting offers on the table.

The best negotiators also work to foster organizational learning, both during and after a negotiation. They pay careful

attention to managing the team learning process, establishing clear roles and responsibili- ties for observation and analysis, and devoting substantial time between at-the-table sessions to integration and distillation of insights.

PRINCIPLE 3 : BREAKTHROUGH NEGOTIATORS ARE MASTERS OF PROCESS DESIGN. Control of the process yields control over outcomes. Skilled negotiators think hard about the impact of process on perceptions of interests and alternatives, on the part of their counterparts and those they represent, and on their own side. Then they work to fashion-often to negotiate-processes likely to lead in favorable directions.

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Each year a t i t s January members' meeting i n New York, the CPR Insti tute for Dispute Resolution, Alternatives' publisher, presents Awards for Excellence i n Alternative Dispute Resolu- t ion in a variety of categories. The accompanying article i s part of a series of Alternatives adaptations and updates o f the publication awards.

This month's article, by Michael Watkins and Susan Rosegrant of Harvard University, is an excerpt from "Breakthrough In- ternational Negotiation: How Great Negotiators Transformed the World's Toughest Post-Cold War Conflicts," Jossey-Bass (2001) (0 2001 by Michael Watkins and Susan Rosegrant. Adapted by permission of Jossey-Bass, a John Wiley & Sons Co.), which was one of two CPR book award winners.

The seven principles described i n this article are designed to be the prism through which t o view the extensive casenote- style examples provided in the book. For example, the book provides accounts of James Baker's coalition-building efforts

during the Gulf War; Robert Gatlucci and the US.-North Korea denuclearization negotiations: the Oslo Peace Process; and Ri- chard Holbrooke's efforts to end the war i n Bosnia.

The book i s divided into two parts. Part One outlines the foundations o f the breakthrough negotiation framework: diagnosing negotiating situations, identifying bafflers t o agreement, managing conflict, and building momentum.

Part Two presents and analyzes three case studies. The accompanying conceptual chapters explore approaches t o trans- forming the dynamics of conflicts, building coalitions, and leading negotiations.

Full details on this year's CPR awards can be found a t 20 Alternatives 18 (February 2002). CPR has presented the awards annually since 1983. For information on the awards' history, including a l ist of a l l award winners, see the link on CPRs home page a t www.cpradr.org.

The Seven Principles of Breakthrough Negotiation (continued from previous page)

Skilled negotiators know, for example, that one-on-one negotiations are suited to some issues and group negotiations to others. They are cognizant ofthe potential benefits and costs of setting up a secret channel. They understand that details as small as the timing of a meeting or the size and shape of the negotiating table can make a difference. Above all, they are reflective about the process design choices they make; they know that a bad pro- ces-one perceived as unfair, illegitimate, or simply confusing-can create unnecessary barriers to agreement and that good process design can promote breakthroughs.

PRINCIPLE 4: B RE A KT H RO U G H N E G O T I AT0 RS FOSTER AGREEMENT W H E N POSSIBLE BUT EMPLOY FORCE W H E N NECESSARY. Breakthrough negotiators understand the delicate interplay between negotiation and coercive power. Speaking of the U.S. &lure in Vietnam, Henry Kissinger said, “Treating force and diplomacy as discrete phenomena caused our power to lack purpose and our negotiations to lack force.” H. Kissinger, “White House Years” (New York: Little, Brown (1979)), p. 62. This observation was echoed by Kofi Annan in his description of dealing with Iraq: “You can do a lot with diplomacy, but with diplomacy backed up by force you can get a lot more done.” “U.N. ChiefTries Again to Get Iraq to Allow Arms Searches,” New York Ernes, Aug. 10, 1998.

Great negotiators make skilled use of ex- plicit and implicit threats. They also recognize the need for threats to be credible, because the cost of using force can be very high. The Gulf War, for example, cost the U.S.-led coalition $61 billion; allied casualties were low, but tens of thousands of Iraqis lost their lives. Expe- rienced negotiators recognize too that their counterparts will probably view any agreement achieved by means of coercive power as illegitimate and will feel free to violate its terms unless power is applied on an ongoing basis to enforce it. They also understand that backing weak players into a corner triggers resistance and escalation.

PRINCIPLE 5: B RE A KT H RO U G H N E G O T I AT0 RS ANTICIPATE A N D MANAGE CONFLICT. Negotiators‘ efforts to advance their sides‘ interests almost always go hand in hand with management ofconflict, both between the sides and within them. Often, negotiators or those they represent are already locked in adversarial relationships when negotiations begin, and the experience of past conflict is likely to have dis- torted their perceptions. Even if the parties are not already “at war,” every effort at dealmaking is a dispute waiting to happen.

To paraphrase [“Getting to Yes” coauthor] Roger Fisher, breakthrough negotiators medi- ate their own disputes. (He has argued that every negotiator has a dual role as partisan advocate and as comediator. See R. Fisher, “Negotiating Inside Out: What are the Best

Ways to Relate Internal Negotiations with External Ones?” in “Negotiation Theory and Practice,” ed. J.W. Breslin and J.Z. Rubin (Cambridge, Mass.: PON Books, 199 1). They are skilled at diagnosing potential sources of conflict. They recognize the potential for escalation in zero-sum thinking, mutual perceptions of vulnerability, a history of distrust or injury that has transformed perceptions, and cultural misunderstandings. They are also equipped to craft strategies to overcome these bafflers, such as by refraining issues or setting up confidence-building mechanisms.

The ability to foster productive working relationships is another key to managing conflict. Such relationships act as a kind of psy- chological buffer during difficult times. As one negotiator put it:

You have to have the ability to interact on human terms with the other party. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not that you have to play the nice guy. Not at all. It‘s the ability to sense the other party, to understand him. You don’t have to fall in love with the other party in order to understand. You don’t even have to sympathize with the other party in order to understand what’s going on with him. But you have to be able to understand and you have to be able to develop trust. But also to project a kind of seri- ousness and, if necessary, also toughness with regard to principles and positions that you believe you have to protect. At the same time, skilled negotiators are

careful not to let agreement or avoidance of conflict become ends in themselves. No agree-

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ment is preferable to a bad agreement. The best negotiators never get so caught up in the process that they lose sight of the end they are trying to achieve. Said one negotiator, “Get- ting to ‘yes’ is easy: all you have to do is roll over. It’s getting what you want that‘s hard.”

PRINCIPLE 6: BREAKTHROUGH NEGOTIATORS BUILD MOMENTUM TOWARD AG RE E M E NT. Negotiations do not proceed smoothly from initiation to agreement. They ebb and flow, with periods of deadlock or inaction punctu- ated by bursts of progress until an agreement is reached or breakdown occurs. Decision makers make hard choices (such as to make an unfavorable concession) only when they lack more attractive alternatives and doing nothing is not an option. As long as counterparts believe that the costs of action outweigh the potential benefits of inaction, they cannot be expected to act.

Breakthrough negotiators thus work to channel the flow and pace of the process. Sometimes developing an attractive vision of a desirable future pulls the other side forward toward agreement. Sometimes a logjam can be broken by proposing a formula or framework or face-saving compromise. Movement can also be created by erecting barriers to backsliding that impel the process forward- taking advantage of the irreversibilities char- acteristic of complex negotiation systems. By securing early agreement on basic principles or a framework for detailed bargaining, a negotiator can make reversal more costly.

PRINCIPLE 7: BREAKTHROUGH NEGOTIATORS LEAD FROM THE MIDDLE Great leaders are often great negotiators, but the reverse is also true. The actions of skilled negotiators have a big impact on the outcomes of complex negotiations. In negotiations between groups, external negotiations and internal decisionmaking within the groups invariably interact. How they do so can en- hance or undermine the potential for agreement. Representatives must work internally to shape their mandates and negotiating instructions, and to sell the resulting agreements to constituents. At the same time, they must build credibility and productive working relationships externally while advancing the interests of their sides. But good external moves may have adverse consequences for

selling agreements inside, and vice versa. A negotiator explained:

You can do things that help you to progress in relationship to your external partner . . . , but they would have created problems for you on the home front. The gap between those who are leading the negotiations and all those people who have to come afterward would grow, beyond the point where it could be bridged. But if you walked too slowly, you might stay close to your constituents, but you would have been very far away from the other side. Managing internal decision making,

which often consists of shaping internal negotiating processes, is frequently more chal- lenging than negotiating with the other side. Breakthrough negotiators also pay close attention to how the other side makes decisions, and they use their insights to tailor their own moves and sometimes even to help their counterparts sell agreements.

Because skilled negotiators have substantial control over the flow of information between inside and outside, they are seldom mere passive messengers carrying out the instructions of their principals. According to this negotiator:

The traditional model [of the process] is that the leadership sets the goals, and then from those goals [the lead negotiator] can make decisions regarding strategy, tactics, and then produce instructions for the team. But that sce- nario doesn’t represent real life, as far as I understand it or experience it, because the goal and the strategy is changing con- stantly. There is a dynamic throughout the process. And the leadership is not fully in control of it because that dynamic is the product of the interaction between you and the other party, and sometimes more than one party. . . . And since things are changing, then you can have an impact whatever your position in the loop. You can have a big impact if you handle it cleverly and effectively.

Acting as a bridge between internal decisionmaking and external negotiating and reconciling the divergent interests of fractious constituencies demands leadership grounded in credibility and skill rather than authority. Negotiators who participate in shaping their mandates have a clear and unwavering vision of what they want to achieve, and work to shape internal and external perceptions to maximize their ability to advance their sides’ interests-and their own. i

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