Simplify, Simplify? Not in negotiation.
The Washington Post recently published an article about a newly discovered decision-marking bias. It cites research indicating that many of us make things harder by complicating problems. The piece includes a quick brain-teaser to test whether you fall into that trap. The apparent message is that we should honor the KISS mantra: Keep It Simple, Stupid.
Well, maybe that’s true in some contexts, but it can be a big mistake in negotiation. In fact, complicating a transaction is often the secret to breaking stalemates.
A quick example. Let’s say you tried to simplify job negotiation by limiting it to salary and nothing else. What if the maximum that the employer would pay was less than the minimum the employee would accept? You’d have a deadlock.
But if you un-simplified the negotiation by folding in other items like a performance bonus, perhaps, stock options, and the chance to work remotely, there might be plenty of room for agreement.
So thumbs up for complicating the scope of the deal. But don’t stop there. Resist the temptation to simplify the process by following Roberts Rules of Order, dealing with only one issue at a time.1 Things would be neat and tidy, I suppose, but as a result you would have created a series of zero-sum, win-lose exchanges.
Working instead with multi-issue packages may seem messier, but that’s what sparks value-creation. For instance, I might have some item or contract provision that I’d prefer to keep, but if you value it more highly than I do, then maybe I can exchange it with you for something that you have that’s worth more to me. We can only do that if both issues are on the table together.
Mark Twain said that differences in opinion are what make horse races. In negotiation, trading on differences in priorities, perceptions, time frames, and risk tolerance are what generate value. Surfacing more issues does complicate things—in a very beneficial way.
A heads-up
Tomorrow I’m putting up a quick three-party negotiation exercise for paid subscribers to Jazz of Negotiation. It’s something you can play remotely with friends and colleagues, or at the dinner table with family. It illuminates important lessons about strategy and the subtly of bargaining power. And it’s fun.
See Lawrence Susskind and Jeffrey Cruikshank’s Breaking Robets Rules: The Way to Run Your Meeitng, Build Consensus and Get Results.