This year’s Overarching Question: “Must a hero conquer fear to find true love?” was answered by all the hard work MS and LP Eagles put into their Negotiations Quests. Because in a Win-Win Negotiation, you must set aside the fear of being duped for long enough to hear what the other side truly values.
Yes, tackling Harvard, MIT and other role plays and well tested challenges like The Prisoner’s Dilemma was important. So was learning your natural negotiating style, from Avoidance to Accommodation to Collaborative to Competitive, and how to predict what your partner on the other side of the table might do.
Equally valuable was following a disciplined process,from Preparation to Questions to Bargaining to Closing, as well as setting the right first impression; asking about your partner’s needs and interests.
But nothing in win-win negotiation is more important than:
- Getting each what he or she values most;
- Finding hidden treasures your partner will share; and
- Setting incentives that encourage long term cooperation.
All of these require trust, which means giving up the fear of being hoodwinked, which makes being warmhearted far more important than the skills of a tough bargainer. Or as Aesop put it:
In the end, Eagles created a valuable framework below to complement Aesop’s fable, both of which will serve them well on their Heroes’ Journeys.
