Info

CFAR offers a variety of negotiation services to our clients. Recognizing that organizations need negotiation skills for different reasons, we offer a wide range of consulting services to address the particular client need and situation, be it hands-on, interactive training in negotiation strategies and tactics, coaching and support for a specific, real-time negotiation, or a new way to think about teams. Our approach to negotiation is distinctive from many others in that: We view negotiation as a strategy rather than a transaction and always strive for excellent outcomes and excellent relationships. We understand that everyone has their own personal negotiating style and preference, and we encourage our clients to use their own style to their advantage in each negotiation they face. We believe negotiation is not "one size fits all" , different negotiations require different structures, tools and strategies. We offer three distinct negotiation services that can be tailored to the client situation. Each is described in more detail below. Workshop and Coaching Our approach to teaching negotiation is based on one important assumption , the best way to learn how to negotiate is to practice. In our workshops, participants learn the fundamentals of a framework developed by Wharton professor Richard Shell that has evolved out of 25 years of on-the-ground experience, extensive teaching and in-depth negotiation research. It is a practical approach to what we call "information and skills-based bargaining" and is both easy to understand and to apply. Participants leave our workshop with a set of skills and tools they can immediately apply to the negotiation challenges they face. We start each workshop with an in-depth look at individual negotiation styles, using a survey instrument adapted specifically for this purpose. The workshop then offers an engaging mix of interactive case simulations, storytelling and analysis of participants' own cases , tough negotiations or situations that they bring from their real work lives. Participants are encouraged to understand their own negotiating styles, to identify the styles of their negotiating partners, and to experiment with different approaches to negotiation. In short, the workshop teaches a negotiating framework that helps organizations and individuals reach integrative solutions to tough challenges. We also provide pre-negotiation coaching to help clients prepare for negotiation and help increase the possibility that an attractive agreement will occur. Building AlliancesBuilding alliances that require buy-in from multiple stakeholder groups , such as joint ventures or strategic partnerships , is a challenging and often formidable task. Whether the alliance is located inside an existing organization (intra-departmental) or among several external partners, interests are both varied and complex. We have found that differences between stakeholder groups tend to be "smoothed over" or "swept under the rug" as a way to reduce the inevitable conflict that arises. CFAR has developed a unique approach to organizational alliance-building and restructuring based on the premise that conflict itself is a valuable source of information for stakeholders. Surfacing the unique ideas and interests each party brings to the table , which often initially show up as conflict , creates an extraordinary opportunity to grow value by increasing options. In our role as mediators, our goal is to help negotiate creative, effective and realistic outcomes that are acceptable by all stakeholders, are transformational for the organization, and that can be successfully implemented.