Coaching practices for Objective Criteria Negotiation

Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For Objective Criteria Negotiation, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.

Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?

  • It’s turned into a pure contest of who’ll budge first, and I hate that whoever caves just loses face
  • This has turned into a pure contest of who’s more stubborn, and whoever caves first "loses"
  • The second either of us names a solution, the other instantly shoots it down with a counter
  • There are several things on the table here, and some matter way more to me than others
  • We’re both dug into our numbers and it feels totally deadlocked, but I have a hunch we’re not actually that far apart underneath

Practices that may help

  1. Insist on objective criteria to evaluate options
    Agree on an independent standard — market rate, precedent, expert opinion — before applying it to the specific deal.
    Principled Negotiation, Made Practical
  2. Insist on objective criteria
    Anchor the deal to independent standards — market rates, precedent, expert opinion — not willpower.
    Getting to Yes: Principled Negotiation
  3. Define what success looks like together, before proposing solutions
    Agree on the criteria a good solution must meet before either side proposes anything.
    The Third Alternative, Made Practical
  4. Logroll by trading issues of unequal importance
    Concede on what matters less to you in exchange for gains on what matters more.
    Expanding the Pie: Negotiation Beyond Splitting the Difference
  5. Focus on interests, not positions
    Ask why a position is taken — the underlying interest is almost always more negotiable than the stated demand.
    Principled Negotiation, Made Practical
  6. Model synergy: ask "what would a solution have to look like to address both?"
    Use the agreed criteria as a design brief and generate solutions that meet all of them.
    The Third Alternative, Made Practical
  7. Anchor the conversation on criteria first
    Set the standard the number should follow before any figure is named.
    Anchoring Bias in Negotiation and Judgment
  8. Trade across differing priorities
    Give on what you value less to get what you value more — and have them do the same.
    Win-Win Thinking: Expanding the Pie
  9. Invent options for mutual gain before selecting
    Generate multiple creative options without commitment before evaluating any — the solution space is usually larger than the initial positions suggest.
    Principled Negotiation, Made Practical
  10. Separate the people from the problem
    Address relationship concerns and substantive issues in different registers — treating people well and the problem hard.
    Principled Negotiation, Made Practical

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