Let’s just imagine we are on a negotiation table.
There are hundreds of thoughts making rounds in your head.
You are a tad-bit uneasy for the obvious reasons.
What goes in our head?
- We may go into a negotiation with a certain goal which is a benchmark of our success or wins at the end of the negotiation.
- of course, everyone wants to be on the winning side of the negotiation. The moment you think that I am going to win, and you look at the flip side, it means that the other person has to lose.
Oftentimes in business one’s win is considered another one’s loss. That’s how most people usually see it.
Suppose there is a lot of difference between the expectations of the people involved in the negotiation. Oftentimes we also shy away from speaking our mind largely because of fears of expectations mismatch. For eg., the price is $100 set by another person and what you came to mind was for the price to be $20.
Now two things can happen here:
One way to look at it is to simply retract from the conversation thinking that there is no way that the deal can go without one person compromising heavily.
Alternatively, if you speak up, at least there is a probability or a chance of negotiation beginning and then the deal falling in place.
How you can really shift those gears is by trying to realign the goals of both parties.
The ideal situation would be in which one is considerate about another person’s win as well and that is the point when both are going to come up with a good deal or negotiation. It doesn’t matter even if you close the deal without having shared common interests, it might work in the short term. However, it is bound to fall apart sooner or later, when both the parties will start gravitating towards their personal goals, which is counterproductive anyway.
If you go with the mindset that let’s just make me win another person’s win and realign the expectations in such a way. It might happen that the deal might not happen, but you will leave a lasting impact on the other person.
The idea to understand that it is not a zero-sum game, for any partnership or relationship to last, everyone involved in it need to share a common goal inherently and try to make things better not just for themselves but everyone else as well.
If you apply this, let me know how it goes and how it helped. And if you have done the same thing in the past please share your experiences.
