A quick word first
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There’s an old saying, “The first rule in politics is knowing how to count.” In other words, can you muster enough votes to get your proposal enacted?” If the answer is no, maybe you should step back, at least for the moment, and not squander your political capital on a losing cause.
That same rule applies in negotiation, as well. Can you get enough yesses to reach agreement? If not, you may be wasting your time.
There are corollaries to the rule, as well:
1. Looking around the table, do you need absolute unanimity, or will a simple majority carry the day?
2. Whose yes counts the most (and why)?
3. What’s the best way to come to consensus within your own team?
Those issues (and more) are the subject of a Harvard Business Review article published earlier this month: “These Strategies Will Help You Influence How Decisions Get Made,” by my colleague Bob Bordone and Daniel Doktori.
Give it a look. It’s a quick read, but it offers wise advice on how to adapt your negotiation approach depending on the rules of the game, formal and otherwise. As it happens, it also nicely pairs well with my article earlier this week. Team vs. Team Negotiation: Identifying allies, blockers, and quasi-mediators at the table.