As kids, most of us played the game “I dare you”: We would draw a line in the sand (figurative or literally) and dare the other person to cross it. Sometimes it got really serious and we got double-dared. Talk about pressure.
And what this is really all about is setting a position, a challenge, and daring the other person to take that challenge (and actually it’s your challenge not theirs). The adult version in a business context is called positional bargaining. I set my position in a negotiation, and literally dare you to drive me off it. Well, the outcome is usually different than the childhood game – though it’s pretty obvious – the other digs into their position, dares you back, and in the end – it’s a stalemate. Nothing happens, and both parties walk away blaming the other for their intransigence.
Sounds silly and counterproductive. And while it often is, we see it a lot in business and politics. In fact, and quite unfortunately, we have been seeing a real-life example of this between Congress and the White House. And the press asks an important question: Who will blink first? Who will cross the “line”?
In business, it looks like this:
- “I’ve set my sale price for my business – take it or leave it.”
- Problem – your sales price is unrealistically high and your business is not in a position to support it
- “I want you to provide more service than we agreed on in the contract. If I don’t get it, I’m cancelling the contract or I won’t give you future business”
- Problem – you agreed to pay for a defined level of service, now you are asking for more without a price change. Is that how you run your personal business?
Positional bargaining doesn’t work. Not only does it create tension and at times animosity, but when the deal is finally done, or resolution reached, often neither party is satisfied.
In this week’s Quick Tips we will explore a better way to reach and agreement and avoid drawing any lines.
Copyright 2011 Kubica LaForest Consulting
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