NEGOTIATION -- NOT SOMETHING
YOU TYPICALLY LEARNED IN COLLEGE

7 August 2001

by Michael Mah

It's probably safe to say that most IT professionals and their managers have not been formally trained in negotiation. As a degreed electrical engineer, it certainly wasn't in my undergraduate curriculum 20-plus years ago. We dealt with pure science; people issues and the negotiation of conflicts seemed secondary. I became almost obsessed with the field of negotiation at the graduate level, but only after experiencing and observing conflict firsthand in industry for years.

Almost every person I talk to in software, IT, or otherwise, describes negotiation and organizational/people issues as the most difficult aspects of their jobs. It's no wonder. We're not trained for it. Even when we are, conflict can be difficult and emotionally taxing.

I recently taught a full-day tutorial at the Applications of Software Measurement Conference (ASM 2001) on negotiating project scope under mandated deadlines. Although I was very pleased with the responses, I was surprised by comment sheets that said, "Next time, I'd like more discussion on negotiation and less on metrics." The irony was that I had constructed a syllabus with an emphasis on metrics because ASM 2001 was a metrics conference! But this kind of feedback, plus earlier observations, gave me new insights about what's needed in this technology economy.

Beat the Other Side to a Pulp -- Or Use an Alternative

From a sociological perspective, people don't seem to have very good track records when it comes to dealing with differences. We're taught that when conflict occurs, the end game is to win. And to win, you must beat the other side to a pulp. If the other side concedes more than you, they lose and you win. It's as simple as that.

Power, tactics, and leverage are the order of the day in this environment. This pugilistic model of human behavior seems to appear in disputes ranging from two people in a street brawl to battles between departments, lawsuits among corporations, and wars between nations.

In landmark works on negotiation such as Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0395631246/cutterinformatco), authors Roger Fisher, Bruce Patton, and William Ury argue that there is a better way, one that is focused on something known as principled negotiation, or negotiation on the merits, developed as part of the Harvard Negotiation Project. This work and others shift negotiation into a different reference frame than what many are accustomed to, articulating what is described as the seven elements of effective negotiation. They are:

1. Evaluate and develop alternatives.
   
   
2. Probe for underlying interests.
   
   
3. Invent as many options as possible.
   
   
4. Use tests for legitimacy.
   
   
5. Develop well-planned and realistic commitments.
   
   
6. Ensure effective communication.
   
   
7. Have the process that builds (not destroys) relationships.
   
   

These elements can be compacted into four basic points that provide a proven, reliable framework that anyone can use. In IT, metrics play a vital role in each. These four points are:

1. Separate the people from the problem.
   
   
2. Focus on interests, not positions.
   
   
3. Invent options for mutual gain.
   
   
4. Insist on using objective criteria.
   
   

-- Michael Mah, Editor, IT Metrics Strategies, Senior Consultant, Cutter Consortium

[For more on metrics and the elements of negotiation, see the April 2001 issue of IT Metrics Strategies, available from Cutter Information Corp. at +1 800 492 1650 or +1 781 641 9876, fax +1 800 888 1816 or +1 781 648 1950, or e-mail service@cutter.com.]