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Negotiation is a useful skill, but for many people, it’s also elusive. Most people agree that it would be “nice to be able to do,” but many people prefer to avoid it.
Negotiation is a useful skill, but for many people, it’s also elusive. Most people agree that it would be “nice to be able to do,” but many people prefer to avoid it.
According to Don Hutson, the speaker in this video, Jay Paul Getty, founder of the Getty Oil company, was one of the best negotiators in global business history
Some people asked Getty, “What do we got to do to be as successful in our lives?”
If you’d rather watch the video on YouTube, here is the link:
What’s it take to be successful (according to Getty)?
Getty’s answer was something along the lines, “Well, success is really simple. You’ve only got to do 3 things: Rise early, work hard, & strike oil.”
This answer is GREAT… if you’re in the oil industry AND you find oil, but what about the rest of us?
Even though most of us aren’t in the oil industry, “…we’ve all got some potential oil patches out there where we can, in effect, strike our own oil by being (really) good at something that matters…negotiation fits into that category.”
But…as Hutson points out, MOST people HATE to negotiate.
What Causes a Disease Called Negotiaphobia (Fear of Negotiation)?
When it comes to negotiation, many of us have a disease that he calls …“Negotiaphobia.”
What is negotiaphobia?
Negotiaphobia is a fear of negotiating based on…
--limited experience
--discomfort with uncertainty
--lack of skill
Hutson points out that any time we go into a negotiation with (a) reluctance or (b) without preparation, we’re going to have “negotiaphobia” come into play.
What is a negotiation?
Negotiation is the (often ongoing) process through with 2 or more parties, whose positions are not consistent, to work in an effort to reach an agreement.
What are different types of negotiation styles?
4 Negotiation Styles
1. Avoidance – Reactive (Low Activation), Low Cooperation
2. Accommodation – Reactive (Low Activation), High Cooperation
3. Competition – Proactive (High Activation), Low Cooperation
4. Collaboration – Proactive (High Activation), High Cooperation
It’s important to know the different negotiation styles AND know the skills how to negotiate using each of these styles.
Hutson pointed out that the most common type of negotiation that is taught is “competitive hardline negotiation,” pretty much meaning that the only way I “get” is to “take” from you. He believes there are other ways to negotiate.
Collaboration is the negotiation style that the Harvard Business School teaches in its classes. Essentially, this tries to develop a win-win outcome and lasting relationships.
Here is his description of each of the four (4) negotiation types:
1. Avoidance – Reactive (Low Activation), Low Cooperation
These people tend to have the “most severe case of negotiaphobia.” They prefer NOT to negotiate at all. To them it’s “unpleasant” and prefer to avoid negotiating at nearly all costs.
2. Accommodation – Reactive (Low Activation), High Cooperation
These people are likely to be of a “spirit to give something up.”
Hutson says that if you’re going to accommodate, “Go there reservedly. Go there with full knowledge, and get something in return if and when you do accommodate.”
3. Competition – Proactive (High Activation), Low Cooperation
This is the most common and what most negotiation trainers teach.
As Hutson puts it, “They’re going to beat you up, if they can, for every dollar in your margin they can steal.”
What’s the problem? That’s not really a “relationship-building” sort of thing.
4. Collaboration – Proactive (High Activation), High Cooperation
This is the win-win category, at least it’s the theoretical target.
What is behavioral adaptability?
Me-Oriented: People who are preoccupied with their own agenda, often approaching negotiations with a more competitive style. They have their “blinders” on, and they’re not going to stray far from their initial position.
Hutson suggests that if you have a lot on the line, “go into competition with them...and let them see your strength in your own competitive process.” By doing that often enough, he reasons that these types of people will eventually “lighten up” and realize that “…maybe it’s time for us to collaborate…if they really want to do business with you.”
Who is Don Hutson?
Don Hutson is the co-author is over ten (10) books, including best sellers The One Minute Entrepreneur and The One Minute Negotiator. According to his website, Don Hutson graduated from the University of Memphis with a degree in Sales, and he became the top salesperson in a national training organization. He also has presented to over 1500 small groups. Today, he has his own training firm and is in demand as a professional speaker at corporate and association meetings. Don Hutson’s client list includes over one-half of the Fortune 500, and he is featured in over 100 training films. He is also the Chairman of Executive Books.
My Takeaways
Negotiation is something that, if you are willing to TRY learning how to do, you’ll be well into the upper half of business people, because so few people truly embrace it. So it’s one of those things that you can put forth a little bit of effort yet gain a lot of advantage from that (relatively) little effort. That’s called leverage!
It seems like Don Hutson believes that the first stance we should take is collaboration. However, if we run across someone who appears to be “taking us for all he can,” we should try to match his “unreasonable-ness,” hoping that he’ll eventually see how pointless it is.
I admit that I’m not sure how I’d handle this type of fellow IF he had more to offer me than I did him.
Thinking about it, I think I’d only go for “small bites” here. I would not try to get everything he has to offer but simply one thing that’s really important to me…and I’d try my best to figure what I have to offer him that he’ll find valuable.
Did you get any different takeaways? What ideas did this prompt in you?
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