Change and Negotiation

 

What do change and negotiation have in common? They are both:

• Asking people to change
• Easier planned than executed
• Subject to opposition 

In today's edition of the Harvard Law School Program on Negotiation Sunday Minute, James Sebenius provides seven tips on how to handle a big negotiated deal that is falling apart or facing opposition. He states the Amazon decision to back out of an agreement to build a major business center in New York as an example. It seemed like a done-deal, (a meaningful change) and then it fell apart. 

Change management efforts also frequently fall apart. That's frustrating and career-impacting for anyone involved in the change. Like a deal gone sour, a failed change project is agonizing.

Here are seven tips from the article. I think that they are excellence advice for managing a major negation AND managing a change project:

1. Never take success for granted in a complex, multiparty setting.
2. Stay informed about local opinions regarding the issues involved.
3. Identify and nurture potential supporters before you need them.
4. Identify potential deal blockers at the start of the negotiation.
5. Be aware that opponents with diverse concerns may team up to form a blocking coalition.
6. Listen to potential opponents’ concerns and address them, to the degree that you can.
7. Continue to negotiate for the agreement’s success during the implementation stage.

Whatever change management process you follow, those seven tips are worth considering to help your project overcome resistance and build positive relationships of collaboration rather than conflict. 

-- doug smith