> home
> About
> Contact Us
> Editorial Info
> IEEE-USA

11.08

Engineering the Art of Negotiation

By Sharon Richardson

John G. Shulman, President and CEO of the negotiation consulting and training firm, Alignor has written two informative e-books entitled Engineering the Art of Negotiation Part I: How to Handle Your Boss, and Engineering the Art of Negotiation Part 2: How to Handle Your Colleagues.

Engineering the Art of Negotiation Part I: How to Handle Your Boss

Shulman writes that people in organizations get ahead because they have good relationships with their bosses, and those relationships don’t just happen by chance — there are practical and proven ways in which you can handle your boss, keep your dignity and move ahead.

The Art of Negotiation is how you express your own personality and individuality when you negotiate. It is a simple process that takes discipline and organization. This e-book, the first in a series of e-books on the subject, will help you develop the skills you need to be a successful negotiator, whether at work or at home.

This e-book covers different approaches to negotiation. There is the approach that reacts to whatever comes your way and hopes for the best; the competitive approach where you win and the adversary loses; and the recommended approach, where everyone feels they’ve gotten their needs met— an interest-based negotiation, as Shulman calls it.

The preferred approach is a three-step process that asks you think about who is involved and what they need; what can be done to meet the needs of others and get what you want, and, of course, the consequences, if you don’t come to an agreement.

The e-book provides a process worksheet designed to help you do some organized brainstorming, list the issues, the stakeholders, actions and alternatives. Also included is a mini case study that will help illustrate how the process works.

The mini case study is broken down into steps using the process worksheet, talking points and sample fighting alternatives. Shulman lists common mistakes that can occur in negotiating, as well as a few points to think about when applying this method.

Now that you have an idea of what is inside the e-book, The Art of Negotiating Part I: How to Handle Your Boss, let’s take a look at Shulman’s second e-book in the Art of Negotiation series.

Engineering the Art of Negotiation Part 2: How to Handle Your Colleagues

Engineering the Art of Negotiation Part 2: How to Handle Your Colleagues cover such topics as the Golden Rule of Negotiation; The Difference Between Positions and Interests; Understanding Your Interests; Figure Out the Interests of Your Colleagues; Invite Your Colleagues to Help Find Solutions; Ground Rules for Finding Solutions; and Hold Your Colleagues Accountable.

This e-book focuses on building strong relationships with your colleagues, and how to get them to do what you want. Shulman writes “...every interaction you have with your colleagues potentially affects relationships with them because each of you is assessing the reliability, likeability, trustworthiness and consistency of the other.” Therefore, Shuman says, we need to have a deep understanding of our colleagues’ interests, be willing to listen to them, and be flexible in our solutions that will satisfy your needs as well as those of your colleagues.

Shulman takes us back to the first e-book and talks about the “Three Step Process,” figuring out the interests of our colleagues, the ground rules for finding solutions, and holding our colleagues accountable.

Also included in Part 2: How to Handle Your Colleagues, is  a mini case study: Getting a Colleague to Help You Solve a Problem; The Alignor Process Worksheet to help you determine the issues, stakeholders, possible actions and your fighting alternatives; a sample list of possible actions for the case study; the best case plan for the case study; sample fighting alternatives for the case study; and a list of common mistakes that are avoidable when negotiating with your colleague.

In the e-book's summary, Shulman provides a list of areas to keep in mind as you study and use the methods he has outlined in this e-book.

The Art of Negotiation Part I: How to Handle Your Boss and The Art of Negotiation Part II: How to Handle Your Colleagues can be purchased at www.ieeeusa.org/communications/ebooks for the IEEE Member Price: $9.95 and Non-member Price: $24.95.

Ideas for new e-Books

IEEE-USA E-Books invites IEEE members and volunteers to submit queries for e-books they may want to write. If you’ve got an idea for an e-book that will educate other IEEE members on a particular topic of expertise, e-mail your e-book queries and ideas to IEEE-USA Publishing Manager Georgia Stelluto at g.stelluto@ieee.org.

You can purchase IEEE-USA e-books — and download free ones —at www.ieeeusa.org/communications/ebooks.

Sharon Richardson is IEEE-USA’s Communications Assistant and Editorial Assistant for IEEE-USA Today’s Engineer Digest.

Comments may be submitted to todaysengineer@ieee.org.