Strategy Waves - June 2020
In the last 12 weeks, the amount and rate of change means we are navigating, adapting and negotiating our way through new -- and mostly unexpected -- situations. Perhaps a client is asking you to cut fees because their revenue has dropped. Or you are renegotiating a vendor contract to save money during the economic downturn. Or maybe you’re even asking your landlord to freeze your planned rent increase. These new circumstances certainly call for different strategies and approaches to accomplish our goals. So how do we develop them and then put them into action?
The heart of any strategy is uniquely deploying an organization’s internal capabilities in the context of its external environment. Once you identify the two main components and decide how to exploit them to accomplish your goals, then it’s time to execute.
This month’s newsletter is about strategies for negotiating once you are ready to execute. The first of the curated reads focuses on CEO-identified trends from the pandemic, which they expect will shape our external environment going forward. This article may serve as a backdrop for understanding a counterpart’s motivations, desires, and needs in an upcoming negotiation. The other two articles and an accompanying YouTube video are from Harvard publications; both focus on specific techniques to employ when negotiating in the current crisis.
I wrap up this issue with a summary of Chris Voss’ Never Split the Difference, Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on it. It became a Wall Street Journal Best Seller when it was published four years ago. Voss is the former lead international kidnapping negotiator for the FBI. His approach aligns with the collaborative methods articulated by many negotiating training methods, some of which are included in the two articles from Harvard below. But importantly, it also acknowledges the limits of a rational approach to negotiating while proposing a whole new model for the process.
Curated List of Reads about Strategy
“Big Ideas Emerge from Pandemic” from bain.com
Published last month, a senior partner from Bain Consulting synthesizes interview findings from dozens of CEOs about lessons from the stay-at-home orders; rapidly accelerating trends; and the end of the professional management system.
“Avoid These Traps When Negotiating in a Crisis,” in Harvard Business Review (HBR provides free, no-registration content about COVID-19)
The writer proposes using contingent measures and collaborative approaches when negotiating, which he asserts is a preferred way of making decisions during a crisis.
“Negotiating Change During the COVID-19 Pandemic” from the Harvard Project on Negotiations at Harvard Law School.
In April, two professors discussed negotiating and change management to help us navigate change in the COVID-19 crisis and help set the stage for a recovery that will benefit all. Full discussion also available on YouTube here: