How to Negotiate Beyond the Deal

Is negotiating a deal an end in itself, or is it a means to something else? The answer to that depends a bit on what kind of negotiation you find yourself in.

If you are negotiating a deal where as soon as you shake hands, sign a piece of paper, or click to confirm, you are truly "done," then perhaps means and ends are the same. In such cases it could be said that implementation doesn't really matter, and the only thing to care about is whether the deal looks good on paper.

For pretty much anyone else who finds himself in a negotiation where the purpose of the deal is to then do something -- create some kind of economic value, resolve a dispute, or work together to accomplish a goal -- you have to worry about whether what looks good on paper can actually be implemented. And when implementation matters, you have to negotiate differently.

There is a lot of good advice out there about how to do deals. My colleagues and I have spent 25-plus years doing the research behind it, developing it and applying it, first at the Harvard Negotiation Project; then in complex, international public conflicts including constitutional negotiations in South Africa, peacemaking in Central America and back-channel diplomacy in the Middle East. Finally, we applied it to the business world, helping clients improve management of complex negotiations and relationships with key customers, suppliers and business partners. ...