DEAR FRIENDS A simple parable delivers the key message in Getting to Yes. Its the story of an orange - to be precise one orange - and two people who both want it. They argue about ownership for a while and eventually decide to divide it; half each. They separate feeling they achieved the fairest solution. What they dont know is why the other person needed the orange. If they had, the solution would have been quite different. Because one wanted the peel to use in baking a cake, the other wanted the fruit to eat. Had they known, each would have gotten twice as much and they most certainly would have gotten to YES more quickly. If you do not know this story, maybe you didnt see it coming. Thats because in negotiations we focus on our position - as in I want the orange - rather than the underlying interests that drive that position - as in I want to bake an orange cake. It sounds so obvious when its explained yet we persist in taking positions which tend to be I Win-You Lose! confrontations often missing solutions that best address the interests of both sides. If we can see a way to take the interest-driven route its so much easier to get to yes
Posted on: Sun, 12 Oct 2014 09:21:00 +0000