The_Essential_Manager_s_Handbook

402 / CONDUCTING NEGOTIATIONS

Negotiating as a team

weak position

If your position is weak, never share this

information with the other party. New

opportunities or information may arise

at any point, which may strengthen your

BATNA and your negotiating position.

Even if your position is weak overall,

try to identify any areas of strength you

have and use them as leverage. Even

the most powerful party will have some

weaknesses, so try to discover these

and target them.

Never make “all or nothing” deals

from a weak position—you may miss

out on opportunities that would have

arisen as the value of what you are

bringing to the table increases during

the negotiation process. Instead, make

deals sequentially and in small chunks,

to ensure that the other party will be

more likely to recognize the added value

that you bring to the table.

Case study

CREATING POWER

When Thomas Stemberg, the

founder of office products retailer

Staples, needed a new round of

capital to expand his business, he

went back to the venture capitalists

who had already financed the

company. This time, however, they

closed ranks and demanded a

higher equity share than Stemberg

was willing to provide. Determined

to break the venture capitalists’

cartel, Stemberg sought alternative

sources of funding—the pension

funds, the insurance companies,

and high net worth individuals—

with which he could negotiate

from a more powerful position.

Even if your position is weak

overall, try to identify any

areas of strength you have

and use them as leverage

US_402-403_Negotiating_with_power_2.indd 402 01/06/16 12:04 pm