8/9/2017 6 tips for better negotiations

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SOFT SKILLS

6 tips for better negotiations

By Phil Jacklin 73 views

As Project Managers, we need to negotiate. Every day. There are

CAREERS
negotiations with resources on tasks, there are negotiations with The 70 different skills that a
Project Manager needs to master
suppliers, there are negotiations with sponsors about priorities and By Phil Jacklin 27 views

constraints. Our lives are lled with negotiations. The better we are at
negotiating, the better our projects will be.

A word of warning. Negotiation is NOT about getting more of what you

want. That is not a negotiation, nor is it the purpose of negotiation. If you REPORTING

want to get more of what you want, create your own company of one
person and you'll have it your own way. If you want to live in the civilized The 1 true purpose of the project
report
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8/9/2017 6 tips for better negotiations
report
By Phil Jacklin 75 views
world with the rest of us, negotiation is about nding the set of
conditions that keeps all parties happy. It is not about nding the set of
conditions that keeps all parties content - that is the art of compromise.
A good negotiation has to feel like everyone achieved what they wanted.
Understanding that, here are 5 tips you can work on to improve your
ability to negotiate well. AGILE
I don't need a lot of
documentation, I'm Agile. Think
1. What does the other party want that's even more important? A again!
By Phil Jacklin 41 views
negotiation is a two-way street with both parties giving and receiving.
For example, if you need to negotiate a resource to work on your project
next week and the other party is not likely to want to give up the
resource, think about what the other person will want that's even more
important to them than the resource. By thinking what the other person
'wants that's even more important', you are planning a successful SPONSORS
How to learn the language of your
negotiation. By then working out how you can give it, you are more likely sponsor - it will help you deliver
to have a successful negotiation than if you just go in 'all guns blazing' more successful projects
By Phil Jacklin 48 views
demanding that you have the resource. A good negotiation needs careful
planning.

2. Do not go in to a negotiation without understanding what it is you will

give. Now you know what the other person wants, you need to work out
how you can give it. Don't wait until the heat of the negotiation to work
SUCCESSFUL DELIVERY
out how much you will give. Plan it carefully rst. You shouldn't go in to The 6 things the very best Project
Managers do on every project
an auction without knowing what the top price is that you're prepared to By Phil Jacklin 157 views

pay. You shouldn't go in to a negotiation without understanding the most

you are prepared to give in return.

3. Think about what you can give that has more value for the other
person than it does for you. There are some things that you have, that

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8/9/2017 6 tips for better negotiations
CAREERS
the other person will attach high value to, that you will attach low value The 3 issues that de-value project
to. I recall working in an o ce environment and having the desk by the management certi cations
By Phil Jacklin 72 views
kitchen area. I hated it. I'd always get interrupted and there was loads of
foot-tra c passing my desk every day. It was a very hard place to
concentrate. But someone else in the business really wanted my desk.
They were an assistant to the CEO and they hated that they didn't know
who was in the o ce and who wasn't. It made them less effective in
their job. When the CEO asked where person X was, they rarely knew. My
AGILE PROJECT MANAGEMENT
desk was in the perfect position for them. That's an example of Think you're doing Agile right?
something I had that I attached low value to. In any negotiation with this Think again.
By Phil Jacklin 284 views

person, I could offer them my desk. Even if the negotiation had nothing
to do with desks. You will always have something that somebody else
wants, as human nature is to want the things we don't have. Find it and
you have a great tool for your negotiation.

4. Think carefully about the things that you need. If you end a negotiation TEAM BUILDING
without achieving the things that you need, you have not negotiated. At The 4 stages to building a high
performing team
best you have compromised. You might even have capitulated. The By Phil Jacklin 41 views

fewer things you have on your list, the more likely the negotiation is to be
successful. If you need the resource to work on your project next week,
stop there. If that's the most important thing, negotiate for that. Don't
add a shopping list. It will feel harder to create the set of conditions that
keeps all parties happy if the shopping list is too large.
SUCCESSFUL DELIVERY
The 4 words a Project Manager
should never say (and the 4 words
5. Do not discuss trade-offs, instead discuss AND. A trade-off is a they should say instead)
By Phil Jacklin 2462 views
compromise and has no place in a negotiation. If you want the resource
to work on your project next week and they want the resource to work on
their project next week, do not discuss a trade-off. If you get the
resource for 3 days and they get the resource for 2 days, you've both

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8/9/2017 6 tips for better negotiations

lost. Instead, work out what you actually want. What do you want the
DECISIONS
resource for? To perform a certain task? So what you really want is the The emerging phenomenon of the
task completing next week. What do they want the resource for? To project pre-mortem. Are you doing
it?
perform a different task. So what they want is a certain task completing By Phil Jacklin 30 views

next week. Now the question is how can you get your task performed
next week AND how can they get their task completed next week.
Negotiations almost always have an AND. Compromises have trade-offs
and don't leave anyone feeling good about the situation.

6. Watch the body language. There are clues in the body language. If SUCCESSFUL DELIVERY
they lean forward, tilt their head to one side, or prop their elbows on the A checklist - learn to look after the
simple things
table, this is an interesting topic to them. If they sit back in their seat or By Phil Jacklin 53 views

have an open body stance, this is not an interesting topic to them. If they
cross their legs, or cross their arms, or turn their body away from you,
they feel threatened. Use this information to understand what they are
prepared to give and what they are not, or what they are attaching low
value to that you are attaching high value to. This information can help
you to reach a successful negotiation. SUCCESSFUL DELIVERY
The 1 thing you must never do as
a Project Manager
By Phil Jacklin 98 views
The more you practice negotiation the better you will become. The better
you become at negotiation, the more successful your projects can
become.

Try the world's rst project management system with AI and machine
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