The Leader’s Guide To Negotiation: How To Use Soft Skills To Get Hard Results

The next book in the 2020 alternative reading list is “The Leader’s Guide To Negotiation:  How To Use Soft Skills To Get Hard Results” by Simon Horton.  The book, published by the Financial Times imprint of Pearson Publishing, is in its first edition.

This book tackles a very practical subject – negotiation – that is crucial for all lawyers.  But while it is more of a textbook than the other books on this reading list, it is written in a very relaxed and entertaining style that makes it very accessible to law students and the general public alike.  The author emphasizes the importance of adopting a win-win philosophy in negotiations, and carefully works through all aspects of a negotiation in order to demonstrate why it is best for all parties to feel that they can come away from a negotiation feeling as if everyone got what they needed.  Although the common perception of lawyers is that they litigate everything, the reality is that almost all lawyers engage in negotiations on almost a daily basis, making ability in negotiation one of the most important skills a lawyer can have.

This book was selected by Professor Elizabeth August.  Professor August’s bio on the College of Law’s website tells us that “[p]rior to joining the law faculty, Professor August practiced law in Syracuse, both as a sole practitioner and with the firm of Bond, Schoeneck & King, LLP.

A graduate of Syracuse University College of Law, where she served as Lead Articles Editor of the Syracuse Law Review, she has practiced in the areas of education, business, and corporate law. Her clients included large corporations as well as small businesses and not-for-profit agencies. In addition to teaching traditional legal writing, Professor August also teaches transactional drafting and negotiation courses.”

A list of focus questions designed to help you get the most out of “The Leader’s Guide To Negotiation” is available as a separate document.

Focus Questions:

These focus questions are intended to aid you in the active reading of Simon Horton’s “The Leader’s Guide To Negotiation: How To Use Soft Skills To Get Hard Results,” one of the books selected by the faculty of the Syracuse University College of Law  to help prepare you for your time studying law.  This book was chosen by the Professor Elizabeth August.

The questions are written with the intention of helping you.  You won’t be tested on your answers and you can feel free to read the book without them should you choose.  And there aren’t any correct answers for these questions.  It’s more important to question the text and reflect on what the answers might be than to seek for a definitive “correct” answer.

The questions are designed to model the process of active reading, which is a skill with which you should already be familiar.  Active reading is a crucial skill for doing well in law school, and the more adept you become at it before you come to school, the better you will do during your time here.  If you would like to learn more about active reading, there will be content discussing the topic in more depth on the Legal Writer’s Toolkit site.

You shouldn’t assume that these questions indicate a point of view or that they’re trying to steer you to answer them in a particular way.  Rather, they’re intended to provoke you to think critically about what you read and to help you form your own conclusions, based on the information the author gives you about the topics discussed in the book.

We hope you enjoy The Leader’s Guide To Negotiation, and we look forward to meeting you and working with you over the course of the next few years.

 

INTRODUCTION

  1. The author says that negotiation is not very important and that the most important part of the process in which negotiation plays a small role is implementation. Had you considered this?
  2. The author writes this book from the context of leadership. In a negotiation conducted by a lawyer on behalf of a client, who is the leader?  If it is not the lawyer, will this book still have valuable insights for lawyers?
  3. The author describes the “Arm Game.” Before reading how some participants solved the problem posed by the game, what would your solution have been?  Do you think a win-win solution is possible in all negotiations?  Will you revisit your answers to these questions after reading the rest of the book?

THE STRONG WIN-WIN PRINCIPLES

  1. The author notes that details can sometimes get in the way of the final results. And sometimes the last $500 (to Americanize the author’s use of currency) can stand in the way of finalizing a divorce settlement.  But what if the amount is $5,000?  $50,000?  At what point does the amount of the difference become a more significant detail?
  2. The author describes a typical haggle, or positional bargaining, situation. Have you engaged in this sort of bargain?  Did you enjoy the process?  Were you satisfied with the result?  Do you feel yourself to be a good haggler?
  3. One cynical definition of successful negotiation is that it’s a process that leaves neither side happy. Was that how you felt after you haggled?  Do you think the other side felt the same way?
  4. The author’s description of an interest-based negotiation might be a little idealized, but do you see how a successful interest-based approach can produce a win-win result? And do you see why this is a better result than a win-lose result?
  5. The author describes a hypothetical situation in which one large corporation might offer help to a competitor to encourage it to enter into a field, thereby creating business opportunities. Do you see how this can be beneficial to both parties?  Do you also see how this strategy can backfire and go very badly for the helping corporation?
  6. Had you considered the idea that being fair can also satisfy selfish goals? And will you ever be rude to a waiter again?

 

  1. Do you think of yourself as naturally assertive or naturally passive? Do you see why the author draws a distinction between assertive and aggressive behavior?

YOUR WIN

  1. The author stresses the importance of looking at the outcome of negotiation from the perspective of both participants. Do you see why it is important to understand the other side’s position as well as your own?
  2. The author writes as if you will be negotiating on behalf of yourself. If you are negotiating for a client, though, do you see why you will need to participate in a pre-negotiation discussion with your client to make sure that you understand your client’s action points and will negotiate with them in mind?
  3. Are you surprised to read that your client might tell you things that might not be correct? Does this mean that your client is lying to you, or might it mean that your client knows less about its business than it thinks it does?
  4. Throughout this chapter the author has emphasized the importance of research. Do you see why research is such an important part of negotiation?  Had you appreciated the importance of research in negotiation?

THEIR WIN

  1. The author talks about the importance of understanding the other party in negotiations. In the negotiations you’ve conducted in your life, have you done this kind of research?  Or did you assume you were correct about the other side’s motivations?  Having read this chapter, do you still think you were correct, or might you have misunderstood what the other side was looking for?
  2. The author talks about there being very good reasons people should agree to do something and then there is the real reason. Do you see why uncovering the “real” reason that motivates someone to reach an agreement might be different in the legal and business contexts?  Often, personal motivations come into play in the negotiations lawyers must conduct and they can make lawyer’s negotiations more difficult than business negotiations.  Do you see why research into those personal motivations might be more difficult than in the business context?
  3. The author says that “deep down” people are very superficial. Do you agree?

 

  1. The author talks of the importance of inspiration in some deals, and uses the example of the Northern Ireland peace process. How important is inspiration when the goals of the negotiations are more commonplace and less historic?
  2. The author stresses that despite all your research, you might come to a negotiation and realize that your conclusions about the other side’s motivations are wrong. Do you see why the author quotes Eisenhower in this context:  “plans are useless but planning [is] indispensable.”

MULTI-PARTY NEGOTIATIONS

  1. The author writes that complexity creates opportunity. Had you considered this idea before?  Do you see why it’s true?
  2. The author describes situations in which multiple individuals or groups might have an interest in the outcome of a negotiation, and later describes the importance of identifying these various interested parties. Do you see why this is important and why it can also be difficult?
  3. Have you ever mapped out the different parties with an interest in a negotiation? Do you map out relationships in other areas in an attempt to understand the various competing interests in play?  Do you think you will do this to help you prepare for your negotiations in the future?
  4. Had you considered the need to get someone other than the party you’re negotiating with to agree to a deal? Is this why car salesmen take a proposed deal back to the office manager to sign off?  Have you experienced that tactic, and found that the deal you thought was settled was being modified?  If so, how did you respond?

PREPARING YOURSELF

  1. Have you given much thought to cognitive bias until now? Do you think you suffer from any cognitive biases?  Do you think everyone is affected by cognitive bias or is it a phenomenon restricted to a group of people?
  2. The author writes of being in “the right frame of mind,” when you feel you can do anything. Have you experienced this situation?  Often?  Do you know what brings on that sensation for you?  Can you summon it at will or is it something that just happens sometimes?
  3. The author seems to say that we can will ourselves to change our personality to be the appropriate character to meet a situation. Have you considered this as a possibility?  Have you taken this approach in your own life?

DEVELOP YOUR PLAN B

  1. Have you been involved in a negotiation where it became clear that you should walk away? Were you able to do it?  Has someone ever walked away on a deal with you?  How did you react?
  2. The concept of a Best Alternative To Negotiated Agreement is central to all forms of negotiation. Have you considered this idea before?  When you have entered into negotiations for something – anything – have you considered your BATNA or have you begun negotiations without considering what would happen if you do not achieve a satisfactory result?
  3. The author reminds us that when considering the best and worst alternatives to a negotiated agreement, we have to consider our personalities (or, presumably, the personality of the person on whose behalf we are negotiating). If we are negotiating as lawyers, for example, does our client not want to see the inside of a courtroom, or is the client spoiling for a fight, even though it might be costly?  Do you see how these different personality traits can have a significant impact on our negotiating strategy?
  4. The author writes that you should always warn the other side in negotiations that you are preparing to walk away. Do you see why this is good advice?

RAPPORT

  1. Had you considered the author’s claim that if your negotiating counterparty likes you, you are likely to get a better deal? Had you considered the other possibility;  that if you like your counterparty, you might be willing to give the other side a better deal?
  2. The author writes of the mutual affinity that can occur between two people who have shared personal, political, or professional interests. Have you experienced this?  What if you had to negotiate with someone who is your polar opposite?  Will you seek some common point to try to forge a personal connection or will you try some other negotiating strategy?
  3. Are you surprised that the author advises building rapport with your negotiating counterpart even in business deals? Do you see that all deals – even complex business deals like the one described by the author between Eastman Kodak and IBM – are negotiated by people on both sides and that the chances of success are better when both sides have rapport?

 

CREDIBILITY

  1. The author introduces the concept of credibility with a short discussion of the negotiations that take place between cinema chains and film distributors. The same points could be made, though, by looking at sports agents and professional sports teams or lawyers negotiating settlements in litigation.  Do you see why credibility is so important and why it is difficult to secure a favorable negotiated settlement without it?
  2. In the previous chapter, the author wrote of the importance of informality and rapport. Now the author writes of the importance of perceived authority and recommends you dress smartly and carry an impressive bag.  Does this advice appear to be contradictory?  How often do you dress in what the author describes as “the trappings of authority?”  Do you think it might be a good idea to practice dressing this way before engaging in a negotiation?
  3. The author describes some of the attributes of confident body language. Have you considered your own body language and the messages you send to others by your posture, your voice, and your gestures?  The author wrote of self-deprecation in the previous chapter and emphasized how useful it can be in establishing rapport.  Do you think it’s possible to display confident body language and still be self-deprecating?  Do you see how this could be a useful combination for a negotiator?

RAPPORT VS CREDIBILITY

  1. The author writes that negotiators must understand their natural tendencies and draw a distinction between someone who tries to please and someone who tends to come across more sternly. Which do you think more closely describes your natural tendency?  How will this self-knowledge inform your approach to negotiations?
  2. It is very difficult to evaluate oneself using the criteria the author identifies on page 103 – voice, pace and energy, hand, and so on. But these qualities are very noticeable by others.  Will you ask someone to evaluate you using these criteria?  As the author notes, this can be a scary experience.
  3. The author writes that we can boost rapport by conforming our body language more to those behaviors listed in the left-hand column of the chart and boost our credibility by behaving more as the right-hand column describes. Had you considered that acting as a negotiator might involve such attention to body posture and gesture?