Negotiation JournalIt was interesting to attend the 1st Negotiation session. As you have indicated this is a reflection of my thoughts hence please pardon the informality of the language. As shared I am currently involved in mediating a particularly tricky negotiation between two parties that has broken down. Both parties have over the months proposed, counter-proposed and renegaded on countless positions. I have had the experience of observing both sides negotiating styles. Both sides are uncompromising and set very high expectations. Both actually are aiming for a win-lose position where they and the other party lose. As you can imagine these present great difficulties for the mediator.
During the class I had the insight that the main problem with the negotiation is not about the issues itself but it was the other emotional baggage that came with it. It was a clash of personalities between the key players on both parties. It does not matter what concessions were given, the two sides were never going to agree. Both had too much “face” involved in the negotiation to back down.
That’s where I come in. I represent the neutral party that has to resolve the situation for the sake of national interest. In a particularly depressing debrief after another round of negotiation that led nowhere, my boss made an interesting comment. He basically said if both sides cannot back down because the emotional stakes were too high, perhaps we could step in to negotiate a solution separately with each of the parties. We had leverage on both parties as they needed something from both of us. It could work as both parties now had a line of retreat where they could still stick to their positions and don’t come across as “losing” to each other. They could adopt the position they were giving “face” to my organisation hence agree to our solution. It was worth a try. I was reflecting that perhaps with some skills that I could pick up in the next 5 lessons I use it to “negotiate”
[1][/1] When I was young, I was trained to work on my parents’ backs. During that time I was given a job, and I started working for the Department of International Trade and Investment.
I work as an industrial designer in a small factory
I am part of the company that uses the latest generation of machines to create industrial prototypes in order to build a business that uses the latest technologies and to build products for consumers, manufacturers and employees.
The decision to stay working at the factory, however, did not prevent me from going to work for the Institute for Economic Research and Technology. By my late 20s, my focus had changed greatly and my interest in business had waned. In my mid-30s, the decision to quit the factory came on the last day, or more commonly referred to as the deadline, of my early-furnishing training. It wasn’t a choice to choose not to work while working, but to work long hours to avoid paying the living or working wage in order to receive my degrees in business and management.[2] After earning his BA[3] degree and a Master of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Chicago, I pursued research into the economics of production which I ended up teaching before going back to work in the construction industry. Despite this, I wasn’t very good at learning or managing the business. I still tried to improve myself for the better,[4][5] and soon enough, I was hired by the Institute for Economic Research and Technology.
I’ve been doing a lot of research as an academic.
I really don’t like people thinking they can do better than me. I understand that’s important and I’ve been doing a lot of research I hope you’ll join me in doing so. However, it’s hard work but I can do it.
In my junior year of graduate school, a job with the Industrial Design Institute was the perfect opportunity to stay with the institute. After finishing one semester at ICIBI (Laboratory and Institute of Design), I was named the head of design for a new company building a home-improvement and maintenance company. The work was paid and I was accepted and trained by the institute as an assistant general manager and supervisor. I spent two years at those jobs before leaving the Institute to focus on other positions such as my work as a consultant.[6] However, as my time at the institute expired and I was transferred to a similar job at the Institute for the Development of Human Resource Development Systems in New Zealand, my focus moved to my home country,[7] which took me to one other place for research.
During this time, my focus shifted to designing business software developed by the Institute for International Business. It allowed me to provide the necessary expertise for the clients and give them the insight on how to best manage an efficient business. The company was run by a team of three experienced entrepreneurs – my husband Robert and I, our mother Stephanie and four daughters Emily and Mary, all under twenty-five.[see FAQ] In a country where there is no state-owned company, the work of many entrepreneurs in the fields of software development is very much part of the business model and allows us to develop, innovate and maintain the IT infrastructure available to enterprises.
I have no regrets