• Negotiation Mentoring
• Negotiation Lead
• Negotiation Chair
  
  

Even the best negotiators need help and support at critical times in important negotiations. It may be simply that you need to run through your negotiating position and strategies with an experienced, objective third party. Our mentoring approach is analytical – you will be encouraged to develop a systematic model of the negotiation, analysing preferences and quantifying possible outcomes. You will also be asked to look at the psychological aspects of negotiation, and coached to identify a style and approach which is both effective and comfortable for the personalities involved.

There are situations in which you might prefer to ask an experienced third-party to lead a critical negotiation. This can be the case where you feel disadvantaged by your limited experience relative to the other party – for example when negotiating with institutional shareholders. It may also be that you would prefer to keep some distance from the negotiation in order to avoid becoming emotionally committed, or simply as a tactic. In these situations we can act as lead negotiator. Working to your brief, and within the negotiating boundaries set by the Board, we can engage directly with the other party, leading the negotiation to a successful conclusion.

Most of us will have had to walk away at some point from a negotiation in frustration. We wanted to do the deal, knew we were in a zone of possible agreement, but somehow just couldn’t persuade the other side to commit. The frustration comes from the feeling that the other party lost out too – if only somehow they could have been made to see sense! Often this gridlock in negotiations comes about because at least one party is unwilling to disclose information which they know is important but which they believe will weaken their position. In these circumstances it can make sense to appoint an independent, impartial facilitator who chairs the negotiation and attempts to chaperone the parties into an agreement. The chair is engaged by both parties (who share the fee) to ensure impartiality and then meets with each party independently, under a guarantee of confidentiality, to enable him to fully explore the issues causing gridlock on both sides. He then mediates between the parties, exploring possible zones of agreement, generating proposals and working towards a successful deal.