The Intelligent Negotiator by Charles Craver Read Free Book Online

training programs and get the firm to pay her association dues.
    W HAT’S Y OUR B OTTOM L INE?
    Your next step is to evaluate your non-settlement options or, in other words, the best arrangements you could obtainfor yourself if you were unable to reach any agreement in your upcoming bargaining sessions. Roger Fisher and William Ury, in their classic negotiating guide Getting to Yes, described this point by the term BATNA—your Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement. 1 The Intelligent Negotiator uses BATNA as his or her bottom line. Refuse to enter into a negotiated deal that is worse than the circumstances you would have without any accord. Never go below your bottom line.
    What Non-Settlement Options Are Available to You?
    Examine your non-settlement options, such as these: Ask yourself how much do you want the terms you hope to obtain from the other side? What alternatives can you live with if no present accord is achieved? How satisfactory would these alternatives be in comparison to what this opponent could provide?
    For instance, you want a promotion, a higher salary, and better long-term career opportunities than your present situation allows. And you’ve just been offered a job at a competitive company in another city. Are you willing to relocate to obtain a preferable position? Would you be willing to consider a different industry or an entirely different occupation if you could stay where you are and receive better long-term opportunities than you now have? Are you willing to return to school full- or part-time to obtain the skills you need to enter new occupations? What other firms could offer you suitable employment? Could you seek a transfer to another position within your present company that might preclude your need to look elsewhere?
    By diligently searching for acceptable non-settlement options, you can enhance your bargaining power with respect to your present adversaries. The better the external alternatives you develop for yourself, the greater the bargaining freedom you will possess when you are in the thick of the bargaining encounter.
    What Non-Settlement Options Are Available to Your Opponent?
    Once you have developed an appreciation of the different settlement and non-settlement options available to you, and have identified your bottom line, try to place yourself in the shoes of your counterpart. Ask yourself what options would be available to the other side if it failed to reach a deal with you. Many negotiators fail to evaluate the options available to their opponents. This is a critical oversight, for your bargaining power is determined by these factors. Comparing your bottom line with your opponent’s bottom line is the best way to measure bargaining power. If your non-settlement options are better than those of your adversary, you have greater bargaining power—and vice-versa.
    Several years ago, a close friend told me about a significant corporate dispute in which he was involved. He explained the factual circumstances and acrimonious bargaining history, and said he was beside himself and didn’t know how to proceed. I asked what would happen to his firm if no agreement were achieved. He replied that they would be bankrupt. When I asked how bad that would be, he was shocked. I asked whether his company could go through bankruptcy reorganization, and he said theycould. I then asked what would happen to the opposing corporation if no agreement were achieved. He said he had no idea. When I urged him to think about this carefully, he indicated that they would also be bankrupt. I asked whether they could reorganize, and he replied negatively. His firm was the other company’s main client, and if their relationship was severed, the other corporation would be out of business. My friend finally appreciated the bargaining advantage he possessed, by virtue of the fact that his non-settlement alternative, while not pleasant, was substantially preferable to the negative impact a non-settlement