Know that the lawyers on the other side are smarter than you.
Judge Burns (Netflix: For the People, created by Paul William Davis)
Assume that your other negotiator(s) is as smart as you. You must have more will.
Roger Dawson, Celebrated International Negotiator.
People are simply not that smart.
TV Political Comedian Bill Maher, Real Time/Overtime.
Introduction
These statements provoke four issues:
Should effective negotiators make assumptions?
Is this assumption true, that your negotiating person is as smart as you?
Would this assumption be more accurate by stating, assume that the other negotiator believes themselves to be as smart as you.
About the quotes:
For the first quote, of course, Judge Burns is a fictional character.
For the second quote, the late Roger Dawson is a celebrated international negotiator. If one is flying, it is likely that one will find negotiation information in the flight magazine and often it is advertising Dawson.
Since 1983, Roger Dawson has been a full time professional speaker and trainer. He was born in England and immigrated to California in 1962 where he became president of one of California’s largest real estate companies, holding 28 offices, and employing 540 sales associates.
Roger is a member of the National Speakers Association and the holder of two prestigious designations from that association, including: CPAE (Council of Peers Award of Excellence), and CSP (Certified Speaking Professional). Dawson was inducted into the Speaker Hall of Fame in 1991.
Well known for his content and humor, Roger Dawson has the unique ability to teach people how to improve profits and make more sales with Power Negotiating tactics. His training programs are custom-tailored to his audiences world-wide.
This is an amazing assumption and could lead a negotiator down an erroneous path although certainly a smart and savvy negotiator would have “will.”
This assumption also reminds folks of the concept of Illusory Superiority. Dr. David Dunning of Cornell University have accomplished much work on this concept. He essentially discovered that about 30% of people believe that are better negotiators than what they are.
“When someone reacts in a negotiation in a way that you didn’t expect, there are only two potential reasons to consider. Either you don’t really understand what is motivating them, so their disagreement seems strange. Or they are just stupid/crazy/uninformed.” And he then went on to say “the smart and savvy negotiator will always assume that the former is true, rather than the latter. The smart and savvy negotiator will always try to understand better, rather than just discount the other person.”
What are the Characteristics of a Smart and Savvy Negotiator?
The researchers interviewed hundreds of attorneys to discern the characteristics of effective negotiators and the result? Effective negotiators are:
Ethical
Trustworthy
Creative
Flexible
Logical/ Rational
Adherence to local customs
Based on research by Professor Gerry Williams of Brigham Young University School of Law
What are the Behaviors of Smart and Savvy Negotiators?
Researchers at The Ohio State University School of Business compared the behaviors of average negotiator versus skilled negotiators.
Behaviors of Persuaders and Communicators | Average | Skilled |
Exploration of options and possible outcomes. This means that skilled negotiators spend twice as much time searching for ideas and alternative than did average negotiators. | 2.6 | 5.1 |
Search for Common Ground. This means that skilled negotiators spend 3x as much time as average negotiators in finding commonalities between or among the parties and negotiators. | 11% | 38% |
Focusing on the long term | 4.0 | 8.5 |
Concentration on sequence, issue 1, then 2, etc. | 4.9 | 2.1 |
Use of irritators, target words or hot button phrases | 10.8 | 2.3 |
Engaging in immediate counterproposals to proposals | 3.1 | 1.7 |
Use of defending or spiraling remarks or comments | 6.3 | 1.9 |
Behavior Labeling (“Let me ask a question….”) | 1.2 | 6.4 |
Behavior Labeling in re disagreeing (Let me disagree) | 1.5 | 0.4 |
Testing understanding | 4.1 | 9.7 |
Summarizing | 4.2 | 7.5 |
Testing understanding and summarizing | 8.3 | 17.2 |
Asking questions | 9.6 | 21.3 |
Feelings commentary (“I feel confused…..”) | 7.8 | 12.1 |
Argument dilution (use of many reasons to support) | 3.0 | 1.8 |
Source: “The Behavior of Successful Persuaders,” Neil Rackham, Huthwaite Research Group Limited, Negotiation, Roy Lewicki
The Sluggers Come Home Negotiation Case Example developed by University of Stanford Business School. This is the story of a California minor league renovated baseball field owned by Ted and Billy Curry along with administrator Carla searching for a team. Barbara Meyers, along with her baseball manager Al Griggs might be searching to better their field situation.
Ted, Billy and Carla seem smart and savvy.
The 3 understand the value of operating as a team.
They each appreciate each other’s strengths.
They are creative coming up with the variable lease option.
They work diligently.
Barbara along with Al seem not to be smart and savvy.
Barbara does not understand the value of a team. She is a one person show.
Barbara lets the other side do most of the work.
Barbara lets her personality get in the way, including her ego and arrogance. At one point, she declares that she would be the laughing stock of the field if she took a certain action.
Barbara operates by position, not interest. She declares what she will and will not do.
The Carton Transaction Case developed by the University of Missouri Law School. Harry represents a carton producing firm. Kate represents a jar producing firm who needs shipping cartons.
Kate seems to be a smart and savvy negotiator.
Kate is prepared.
Kate is creative coming up with a probation period in the contract.
Harry, not so much.
Harry is unprepared.
Harry uses a lot of useless truisms like "pack 'em" and "crack 'em" all the eggs in one basket.
Politicians as Negotiators Claim Voters are Smart
Daily, politicians assert that voters are smart. Most likely they feel compelled to state such even though they do not believe it. If they did, why are so many politicians involved in tricking the voters or posing misrepresentations or even lying to them?
Are Most Americans (Negotiators) Smart and Savvy?
It is often said that Americans are negotiating 50% of their waking lives. They may call it by other names such as communication, meeting, etc. So, are most Americans smart and savvy?
The majority opinion seems to say, "No."
They point to these behaviors:
Look at behaviors of Americans in regards to use of their mobile phones. Daily, folks are crossing a public street on their mobile phones without looking any ways for cars. Daily, people are in their gym bathroom stalls doing their business while on their phones!
Look at car drivers. Many are speeding, running red lights, constantly being distracted, causing accidents that affect many other drivers. In DC, when a driver views a potential accident ahead like hitting a pedestrian, they don’t slow down but instead, merely beep.
Look at the hundreds of thousands waiting in lines for concerts, sports events, political rallies, purchase of new sports shoes, etc.
Look at the 50 years of Mud Bowl football madness tournament (New Hampshire)
Eating Contests: Look at all of the eating contests including hot dogs (Nathan’s Fourth of July International Hot Dog), pies, etc. How unhealthy are eating contests? According to Wikipedia, speed-eaters may develop other illnesses associated with unhealthy diets, such as heart disease and diabetes. The American Medical Association has recognized speed-eating as an unhealthy practice.
Organized Sports: It is challenging to think of smartness as one watches the behavior of those who follow organized sports or organized religion. The supporters of organized sports, specifically football, completely ignore the racism and the health injuries. There are almost no black NFL owners. The US population consists of 12% black population. The number of black NFL players equal 53%. No black NBA owners yet 70% of the NBA players are black. According to NIH-backed research, only 18% of NFL had no injuries.
Organized religion: Most of organized religion is far from smartness or logic. They mostly rely on beliefs and feelings. Think of accidents like plane crash with 1 or 2 people surviving. Often, they will declare that they were saved by God. Of course, there is a logical concomitant that is never discussed. Organized religion has proven to be dangerous over the decades. They have even used the Bible to support slavery. In fact, one version of the Ten Commandments admonished people who covet other people’s slaves. There are many Old Testament provisions that tell slaves to obey their masters.
Performer Taylor Swift and Swifties: Fans wait for hours and hours for tickets and attendance. In Vancouver, even a horrible ticket behind the stage is costing more than $700. Taylor has made a $7B impact on the economies of the United States and Canada.
Conclusion
Possibly the reason that most Americans are not viewed as smart is that the skills required for “smartness” have been devalued in the present American society. Skills such as:
Critical thinking
Questionings
Situational awareness
Empathy
Resiliency
Flexibility and adaptability
Many of these skills are learned or emphasized in education, especially in liberal arts education. Many politicians are devaluing higher education asserting that one does not need a college education to be a plumber or electrician. This view seems to be thinking that the only reason for education is getting a job. Instead, many believe that a higher education helps one to see various perspectives, to value other cultures, to have a broader view of the world.
Author of Nexus Yuval Noah Harari: If we are so smart, why are we so stupid? He blames ‘bad information.”
ChatGPT: Negotiators often need a mix of intelligence, strategy, and emotional intelligence to be effective. Smart negotiators are typically good at analyzing situations, understanding people, and devising strategies that benefit all parties involved. They’re also skilled in communication and persuasion, which requires both cognitive and emotional skills. However, being a successful negotiator doesn’t solely rely on innate intelligence; experience, preparation, and adaptability play crucial roles as well.
To answer the original question: Should one assume that your partner negotiator is smart, one should not stereotype or generalize. All negotiators are different and unique. To be an effective negotiator, one should do one’s homework on all negotiation parties. In that way, one is well prepared.
Resources.
Road to Wisdom on Truth , Science, Faith and Trust, by Dr. Francis Collins, NIH
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