The Intelligent Negotiator by Charles Craver Read Free Book Online Page B

develop arguments supporting them. Do notopen discussions until you feel personally comfortable with your elevated objectives. This will enable you to exude an inner confidence that undermines a less prepared opponent’s belief in his or her own position.
    When I teach negotiation courses, I regularly notice the same phenomenon. Individuals who begin a bargaining encounter with lower expectations achieve their reduced objectives and are pleased with their results—until I announce the terms attained by other negotiators who had set higher goals. On the other hand, people who begin an interaction with elevated goals may be unable to obtain everything they want, causing them to doubt the degree of success they have achieved. Only after the group results are disclosed do these people appreciate how well they have done. The irony of this situation is the fact that people who always set minimal goals get those terms and are more pleased with their results than are more adroit colleagues who establish higher objectives but fall slightly short of their targets.
    If you always or almost always get what you initially hope to achieve when you enter bargaining interactions, you should begin to raise your aspiration levels, initially, by 10 to 15 percent. If you try to double or triple your planned goals, you are likely to fail and return to your old tendencies. If you continue to get everything you seek, raise your objectives again in 10 to 15 percent increments until you begin to occasionally fall short of your targets. At this point, you can be confident that you have learned to establish appropriately elevated aspiration levels.
    Almost every year, a third-year law student comes to my office to discuss an impending negotiation. The student has received an employment offer from a smaller law firm that does not have a definite compensation policy. The partner has merely indicated that the firm has“competitive salaries.” The student is scheduled to have lunch the next day with the hiring partner to discuss the salary to be paid. My conversation with these students is almost always the same:
    P ROFESSOR C RAVER : Have you asked classmates who have received offers from comparable firms what salaries they have received?
    S TUDENT : Yes. One is getting $80,000, another $78,000, a third $73,000, and a fourth $69,000.
    P ROFESSOR C RAVER : When the partner asks you if you know what similar firms are paying new associate attorneys, casually mention the $80,000 and $78,000 figures and become silent. Look at the partner with confident anticipation.
    S TUDENT: Should I mention the lower salaries paid by the other two firms?
    P ROFESSOR C RAVER: No. Wait and see whether the partner wishes to do so. Most firms don’t like to admit that they are not comparable to the higher paying firms, thus there is a good chance the partner will not discuss the other two firms.
    What is the minimum salary you hope to obtain?
    S TUDENT: I would really like to get at least $70,000 to $72,000, if possible.
    P ROFESSOR C RAVER: You should be able to get the $80,000 being paid by the first firm you mentioned.
    S TUDENT: I couldn’t possibly do that well!
    P ROFESSOR C RAVER : If a classmate was able to get that salary at a similar firm, you should be able to do so. Try to enjoy your lunch tomorrow. I know you are going to do well.
    The student begins to contemplate the $80,000 figure and departs. Several days later, he returns to my office looking somewhat dejected.
    P ROFESSOR C RAVER: How did your meeting with the hiring partner go?
    S TUDENT: Not so well. I only got $78,000.
    P ROFESSOR C RAVER: That’s great! I didn’t think you would do that well.
    S TUDENT: I don’t understand. You said I should be able to get $80,000, and I only got $78,000.
    P ROFESSOR C RAVER: You had to think $80,000 to get the $78,000. If you had gone to lunch hoping to get only $70,000 to $72,000, you would probably have accepted $70,000—and possibly even $68,000.
    Only at this