OWP liVe REPORT

51

Enter a negotiation with a smile on your face and a plan for a dignified exit

M A N A G E M E N T

Professor of Leadership and Negotiation Sameh Abadir spills the beans on the art of the deal. The difference between being prepared for high-stakes negotiation and being ready is a basket of behaviors such as composure under pressure and the ability to understand implicit messages, according to Abadir. Having taught executives how to strike deals for the past 25 years, Abadir shared five key pillars of a successful negotiation in an increasingly ambiguous and globalized world. “Your organization can have all the advantages in the world — good financial resources, an enviable market position and great people — but if your preparation fails, all of these advantages melt away,” said the former Egyptian Special Forces soldier. “No deal is very often better than a bad deal,” he said.

underlying interests.

1 Stress management

“The result is a mediocre agreement at best, and deadlock at worst,” said Abadir, who advises that dealmakers stay cooperative.

The number one source of stress in a negotiation is time. As the clock runs down, we are inclined to strike a deal, even if the terms are unfavorable. That tends to lead to a poor outcome. “No deal is very often better than a bad deal,” Abadir said. “No deal can still lead to a better deal down the line. A bad deal sticks with you.” So, negotiators need to hold their nerve and be prepared to walk away from the table to play the long game. Abadir says negotiations are not necessarily a zero-sum game: They involve elements of both cooperation and competition. Unfortunately, the competition dimension often dominates proceedings. Negotiators become argumentative, engage in positional bargaining and lose sight of their own, as well as the other side’s, 2 Be cooperative, not just competitive

SAMEH ABADIR IMD Professor of Leadership and Negotiation