Identify compatible interests for joint gain

When both sides care about the same thing — quality, reputation, timing — agreements that serve that shared interest outperform splits.

Why it works

Integrative negotiation generates three types of joint gain: compatibility (both sides want the same thing), trade (each cares more about a different issue), and bridging (a new option satisfies both). Compatible interests are the easiest: "We both want this project to finish on time" is a foundation for a solution that neither side needs to sacrifice for.

How to do it

1. Explicitly look for interests that appear on both sides’ lists.
2. State shared interests out loud: "It sounds like we both need this resolved before the quarter closes."
3. Build joint gain solutions from shared interests first — they are the easiest to agree on and build momentum.

Evidence

Identifying and exploiting compatible interests is a key integrative strategy supported by negotiation research. Shared interests reduce zero-sum framing and build cooperative momentum. Thompson and Hrebec (1996) document the cost of missing them: across studies, negotiators frequently settle for "lose-lose" agreements worse for both sides because they never recognized an interest they in fact shared. (observational)

Compatible interests can be over-exploited if one side uses shared-interest framing to position their preferred solution as the only way to serve the shared interest — which is a positional move in interest clothing.

Sources

• Pruitt (1981), Negotiation Behavior, on compatibility and integrative bargaining
• Thompson, L., & Hrebec, D. (1996). Lose-lose agreements in interdependent decision making. Psychological Bulletin, 120(3), 396-409.

Common mistake

Treating compatible interests as assumed rather than stated — leaving shared interests implicit means they don’t function as the foundation they could be.