With the men’s NCAA basketball championship game happening tonight, it’s also time to reveal the champion mayhem-inducing issue at the negotiating table as voted on by our Scotwork community. But first . . . how did we get here?
Each week over the past month, you voted on a different category of eight mayhem-inducing issues at the negotiating table. Your votes narrowed that list down to four per category. Last week, during our Negotiation Mayhem webinar (click to view the webinar), the audience voted on which issues we would discuss live. After literally thousands of votes, we got the list down to the #1 mayhem-inducing issue.
Let’s review the categories (including links to the accompanying blog posts). . .
Other Side
In the category of issues caused by the Other Side, our community voted the list down to . . .
- When they share very limited information.
- When they make last-minute demands.
The winner of the Other Side category is: When they share very limited information.
Self-Created
Our community voted the list of Self-Created issues down to . . .
- My assumptions are wrong.
- Second-guessing myself or negotiating against myself.
The winner of the Self-Created category: Second-guessing myself or negotiating against myself.
Power
In a category we frequently help our clients with, Power, our community voted the list down to . . .
- When we need the other side more than they need us.
- When I’m not dealing with the decision-maker.
The winner of the Power category: When we need the other side more than they need us.
Miscellaneous
In our catch-all category, Miscellaneous, our community voted the list down to . . .
- The deal is stalled or is taking too long.
- I need to change the precedent set by people before me.
The winner of the Miscellaneous category: The deal is stalled or is taking too long.
During the webinar, our negotiation panelist gave advice for how to deal with each element of mayhem. Scotwork experts gave practical advice on everything from how to prevent the mayhem from happening in the first place to what to do when it does happen.
The Final Four, as voted on by the community:
- When they share very limited information.
- Second-guessing myself or negotiating against myself.
- When we need the other side more than they need us.
- The deal is stalled or is taking too long.
All four of these issues are very common and extremely frustrating to deal with:
When one side shares only limited information, it slows the process, raises tensions, and restricts creativity.
If we doubt ourselves, due to lack of confidence or a specific fear, we start to grasp at straws to gain control. But control and confidence are born out of preparation, skill, and experience.
Feeling like we don’t have options induces a sense of powerlessness — that we must accept all demands made. This leads to untenable deals, regret, and resentment.
Deals that stall or take too long can deteriorate and even evaporate. If a deal gets deadlocked, it’s not easy to revive and may be lost to alternatives that don’t include you.
The best way to deal with mayhem is to not invite it in the first place. That’s not always possible, but we can drastically reduce the risk of mayhem by developing negotiation skills, learning from our (or someone else’s) experience, and understanding the negotiation process.
With all that said, our community has narrowed down the list of 32 different mayhem-causing issues to the one that creates the most mayhem:
When we need the other side more than they need us.
You can download a copy of the Negotiation Mayhem Brackets here.
While this concludes our series on mayhem, it doesn’t conclude the work we’re doing to reduce mayhem at the negotiating table. May your mayhem be minimal, and your negotiations be valuable.
We Can Help You Minimize Your Negotiation Mayhem.
Regardless of where it’s coming from — your side, the other side, a power imbalance, or anywhere else — mayhem can destroy deals. Rely on Scotwork experts’ nearly 50 years of real-world experience to help you manage negotiation mayhem or avoid it completely.