{"id":219275,"date":"2010-01-12T10:03:15","date_gmt":"2010-01-12T15:03:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pon.harvard.edu\/?p=9480"},"modified":"2010-01-12T10:03:15","modified_gmt":"2010-01-12T15:03:15","slug":"are-you-afraid-of-commitment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/219275","title":{"rendered":"Are you afraid of commitment?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Adapted from \u201cOvercoming Stage Fright: How to Prepare for a Negotiation<\/a>,\u201d by Michael Wheeler<\/a> (Professor, Harvard Business School), first published in the <\/em>Negotiation newsletter. <\/em><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Many negotiators grow anxious <\/strong><\/span>as they approach the bargaining<\/a> table, a reaction that puts them in good company with other distinguished professionals. Laurence Olivier\u2019s stage fright almost ended his acting career. Even after winning nine NBA titles in a row, basketball great Bill Russell still got sick before every game. Few negotiators suffer to this degree, yet even veterans admit to queasiness and butterflies as they anticipate the first moments of the process.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/strong>The beginning steps in negotiation are all the more daunting because their consequences often are unforeseeable. Openings feel momentous because they require us to commit to some actions and forgo others. Should we be open and friendly at the outset, or should we be more firm and detached?<\/p>\n

<\/span>Unfortunately, we cannot maintain all of our options. But three practices can temper our discomfort at closing off options:<\/p>\n

<\/span>1.<\/strong> Come equipped with a safety net. <\/strong>Good negotiators approach the bargaining table<\/a> with their best alternative to a negotiated agreement<\/a>\u2014 BATNA<\/a>\u2014already in place. A strong walk-away alternative will not only strengthen your bargaining power, but it also will help put you at ease.<\/p>\n

<\/span>2.<\/strong> Be prepared. <\/strong>That means knowing the substance of the transaction, of course, but it also means recognizing that you\u2019ll need to be open to discoveries about the contours of a possible deal and the people you\u2019ll be dealing with. Think of the preparation as putting together a jigsaw puzzle: the pieces you have in hand tell you something about its overall pattern.<\/p>\n

<\/span>3. Practice \u201crecovery routines.\u201d <\/span><\/strong>This way you\u2019re ready for surprises, pleasant or otherwise. Don\u2019t worry about having a snappy comeback for caustic comments; glibness may win the verbal battle but lose the problem-solving war. Instead, in a neutral tone, repeat what the other person just said to give her ownership of the remark. Likewise, if you\u2019ve put your foot in your mouth, apologize quickly. Buying a little time can lower tensions and reduce anxiety.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Adapted from \u201cOvercoming Stage Fright: How to Prepare for a Negotiation,\u201d by Michael Wheeler (Professor, Harvard Business School), first published in the Negotiation newsletter. Many negotiators grow anxious as they approach the bargaining table, a reaction that puts them in good company with other distinguished professionals. Laurence Olivier\u2019s stage fright almost ended his acting career. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4300,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-219275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219275","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4300"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=219275"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219275\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=219275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=219275"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=219275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}