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In last month’s article, I discussed how you can assert a Positive No, which is the ability to express your values while declining some part of an agreement or request. As a follow on to reflections from the William Ury book, “The Power of a Positive No,” here are some thoughts on concluding your negotiation to achieve a mutually satisfactory agreement.

The No you expressed will probably be construed as a rejection so you don’t want to terminate the discussions there, assuming you prefer to continue the relationship. As you may be closing one door, you want to be sure to open a second door. At this juncture, you can assert real value and make progress that may not have been possible before.

After hearing the No, frustration will probably occur to the other party which may result in anger and diminish your chances for an agreeable conclusion. What can you do with that negative energy? Make a positive proposal. Express a common Yes that will show respect for the interests of the other party. Your ability to recognize and satisfy the other’s interests will facilitate a mutually acceptable agreement assuming your interests will be met as well. You will be successfully persuading the other to accept your offering because you will be meeting his needs. After the suggested agreement, the other party will now have the opportunity to express a No to you. This is certainly a risk that the negotiation may break down. But unless there is a ‘win-win’ outcome, the agreement will be short-lived anyhow. You can feel comfortable that you expressed your No and you fairly gave the other the same chance. If he feels he was persuaded unfairly, negative feelings may persist and ruin the possibility of a joint agreement. There is an old adage that says ‘a man convinced against his will, is of the same opinion still.’ Manipulation by talking someone into something if they really don’t accept the value and agree is not a successful long term strategy.

At the point both parties have expressed their No’s and established what will not be done, the opportunity is ripe for developing creative options for mutual gains. Try brainstorming at this point to determine mutually acceptable alternatives. What could you suggest that may not cost more money? For example, you may agree to change the timing and agree on a later delivery. Or possibly you can change the venue by making a conference call now instead of waiting for a personal visit. There are many possibilities if you have agreed that you want to agree. Your trust level should increase since have mutually expressed acceptable limits or values.

Think about how much more can be accomplished with a friend where confidence in the other’s ability to perform is not an issue. You may want to reach accommodation by stipulating some conditions required, such as an ‘if-then’ agreement. You would state the conditions under which you can agree and say Yes. This can be as simple as a price reduction based on volume offered. Possibly you could suggest a time out or cooling off period to re-group your thoughts. Emotions will play a part in the negotiations and you don’t want to make decisions that will be regrettable later on. Ury suggests ‘going to the balcony,” described as a mental place of perspective, calm and self-control. How often have we arrived at more appropriate solutions when given some time to reflect?

A client recently informed me that he had an over-inventory position and needed to immediately suspend planned production. We had raw materials on hand to support the expected orders and further we had supplies ready to be shipped that were covered by a blanket purchase order where items were to be shipped upon request. Our long time supplier for this item, thread in this case, visited with me and our purchasing manager yesterday. I explained the situation whereby we would not need, at this time, the previously ordered items. And unfortunately, I could give an exact date as to when the supply would be needed. I also used the opportunity to ask why we used a blanket purchase order as there was no price discount and lead time was not an issue. My purchasing manager, who took the position after the blanket order was issued also did not know the reason.

But this put the thread vendor at risk as he prepared to ship upon our release, which we did not give. I didn’t want to abuse the relationship but technically there was no requirement for specific performance on our part as the purchaser. If we didn’t call for the release, the vendor could be holding the inventory. We agreed that since there was no lead time issue that we would not issue blanket purchase orders for this product in the future. By discussing our parameters, of what would be our No and Yes in addressing our business needs, we were able to agree and avoid the same problem in the future.

In your negotiations, you have the ability to remain in control and respect your interests and values and those of the other party. By learning to access and utilize tools invented and tried by others you have the opportunity to add to your own arsenal of talents. You will enhance your ability to fashion long-lasting and successful solutions that will benefit your company and assure the valuable support of clients and vendors in pursuit of mutual goals.

Strategic or tactical alliances or partnerships are formed all the time. We may not formally define or design them as such but the benefits remain attractive. The key is to consciously understand how you can best determine how the relationship will be formed and attain maximum benefits to all parties. In other words, how can the relationship be built to assure profits for the long term or any of the desired results among the partners for the short term?
In her book; “Intelligent Business Alliances,” Larraine Segil describes an approach she invented called the Mindshift Method. When forming a partnership or alliance, diagnostic needs to be performed as to the stage of the business and the complimentary personalities associated with each stage. Trying to form a successful relationship without regard to these facets will be difficult at best and probably lead to a breakdown for reasons that could have been averted. The risk of not analyzing the factors can be loss of money, opportunity and continual stressful relationships in the workplace. If you have experienced any of these negative outcomes possibly there were some key points that may have been overlooked prior to forming the business entity.

Bear in mind that strategy is the process of planning and directing operations in the most advantageous way prior to entering the engagements. Tactics would be the process of organizing during the engagement and operations are the process of being in action. Take time to determine and clearly define your strategy before you begin operations. Answer the question about where the company is going now and later and how are you going to get there? Is the vision being implemented properly and if not, how can you and your team design improvement? The answers to these questions will guide the subsequent tactics and operational decisions.

As in a marriage, the concept of mutual benefit is the moving target of alliances. The flow will be positive and negative based upon changes in the lifecycle considerations of the partners. You may start out planning for a win-win set of outcomes but things changes in the environment, economy, technology and customer mix that will necessitate revisiting the benefits originally conceived. Course adjustments are necessary due to factors beyond your control. Don’t let the relationship spin out of control for lack of periodic re-examination of your purposes and progress.

Author Segil notes that when alliances failed, incompatible personality characteristics were found to be a more crucial factor in the failure than any weakness in the business rationale. This would be a reminder to take care of the organization that is taking care of the business. Perhaps some forms of personality testing should be employed to confirm that your plans are on the right track and determine areas where people need to pay attention as to how to improve communication skills and working relationships. To help you identify your corporate personality stages here’s a listing of six stages with some identifying characteristics along with the diagnostic of the managerial personality types that are typically associated with each stage:

1. Start-up: founder-driven, risk intense and energizing. The management personality would be the Adventurer type known for being a risk taker, driven and sometimes unrealistic.

2. Hockey Sticky: Aggressive, confident, but lacking management depth. The Warrior personality dominates, being results focused and resistant to process

3. Professional: known for systematic planning and being predictive. Emphasis on marketing and not just sales. The Hunter type would be the leader being a skilled team and consensus builder and systematic.

4. Mature and Consolidating: risk adverse, complacent with rigid administrative structures. The Farmer personality would be formal and risk adverse as a leader in this organizational stage.

5. Declining: known for over-planning, being hierarchical and ritualistic. The Politician dominates here being known for the “CYA” philosophy, polite but certainly self-protective and bureaucratic.

6. Sustaining: entrepreneurship, planned, controlled, structurally systematic, aggressive, flexible and proactive. The leader is a Visionary who is results oriented, assertive, confident, inspires hope and empowerment, a team builder and risk taker but flexible as well.

To employ the “Mindshift Method” using the above categories, first discover the stage of the life cycle that defines your organization. Then determine the organization’s corporate personality. Examine your own personal managerial characteristics to see how you fit within the stages of the corporate cycle of change. Some personality testing may be revealing to identify your strengths and weaknesses. You may want to test all in your team to find ways to reduce friction and increase performance among different styles of management behavior. Use these diagnostic tools to analyze your actual or prospective partners. Finally, develop strategies based upon observed personality differences that will allow you and you partners to communicate and continue to contribute toward your progress in attaining your current goals.

Use the research and tools to stay ahead of potential conflict among your associates. Avoid the pitfalls of acting without regard to normal and natural changes in your corporate lifecycle and the management styles accompanying them. When things devolve and spiral downward the costs can be devastating both financially and psychologically. By using established research you can benefit by initially making a smaller and smarter investment of time and money to assure your relationships remain on a profitable and positive track.