Negotiating

1. Negotiating J M Roesner DVM, DABVP Loving Hands Animal Clinic 13775 Highway 9 Alpharetta, GA 30004 770-667-9022 www.lovinghands.com

2. Defined: • A process of back and forth communication aimed at reaching agreement when some of your interests are shared and some are opposed. • “Diplomacy is the art of letting someone else have your way” Daniele Vare

3. You negotiate everyday of your life! Do not be over fearful in career related negotiations!

4. General Concepts of Negotiation: • If you go for the throat there will be no one to renegotiate with. • Win-Win not Win-Lose • Ethics • Talk issues “it” not “you” or “me” adopt a stance of joint problem solving.

5. General Concepts Cont. • List your priorities! Know where you can concede with least personal cost. • Know your strengths and weaknesses. Don’t assume I do. Educate me! • Convince me a mutually satisfactory agreement is in my best interest.

6. General Concepts Cont. • Always look for option C i.e. not yours or mine but something novel. • Identify interests behind positions and address satisfying them. • Overcome objections by addressing them before I voice them.

7. General Concepts Cont. • PREPARE! (more later) • This shows you are self-motivated, capable and value my time and our potential association. • Body Language Demonstrate your interest and preparation. Ask questions, empathize and build rapport.

8. General Concepts Cont. Curb your own knee-jerk reactions • Know and list your alternatives (BATNA) • Know and list your own interests; prioritize them! • Consider and list the other sides interests. (be ready to explore this!) • Know and list your own hot buttons and fears.

9. General Concepts Cont. • Take time to consider proposals and information. Step back and regroup. • Remember negotiating is a fluid, creative dance not a forceful linear movement. • Sell benefits not features! Cost benefit analysis. Your role in implementation and follow through.

10. What to Negotiate for

11. Pretax compensation: no payroll tax to me no income tax to you e.g. insurance, retirement, CE, Dues and subscriptions, books, discounted pet care.

12. Nonfinancial issues to negotiate: • Schedule, number of hours worked • Holidays • Staff:DVM • Equipment

13. Intangible Compensation: Moral and ethical alignment Mentoring and autonomy Support (staff and equipment) Added value to your resume of a given practice experience Caseload

14. Preparing to Negotiate

15. Preparation: • Know clearly what you are going in to achieve (e.g. I want a job offer vs. I want to work less than 50 hours a week, no more than 2 Saturdays a month, no on call and meet compensation standards in well managed practice study.)

16. Cont.: • Know clearly what you bring to the table ( I am a graduate DVM vs. I have 20 dog spays in RAM, took US and exotic rotations, did my preceptorship at LHAC.) am self-motivated and interested in growth.

17. Preparation: • Know your BATNA • Consider and list alternatives before you go to the table. • List your interests • List their interests • Consider standards of fairness ( e.g. FMV, well mp)

18. Preparation: Examples of employer interests in hiring new graduate: • Are you a possible successor? • Will you fit with the team I.e. make my staff happy • Is it fair to compensate you higher than other DVM’s? • How much time will I need to devote to shaping and training

19. Cont.: • How will you represent me in the community professional and personal • Do you believe in my vision • Ego • Federal and State labor law • How long will you stay • Are you litigious?

20. Preparation: • Know your BATNA (best alternative to negotiated agreement) • Gives you power • Dispels fear • Relieves negotiation of “do or die” emotion • Should you be negotiating at all? • Will alternatives vanish if you take time and energy negotiating?

21. Preparation: Consider other sides of BATNA • gives insight in what you must overcome in negotiating (i.e. develop agreement to option superior to their alternative)

22. Preparation: • What do I aspire to/for ? • What would I be content with ? • What could I live with ?

23. Preparation: Rehearse, role play get input from trusted others who have gone before you. Helps uncover difficulties, differences Helps build confidence and poise

24. Breakthrough Negotiation (Wm Ury) 1. Go to the balcony 2. Step to their side 3. Reframe 4. Build a golden bridge 5. Use power to educate not escalate

25. Go to the balcony: One barrier to agreement is own tendency to react not respond “I would rather be right than happy” Detach, consider, take breaks to regroup focus on achieving what you want Allow silence “rewind the tape” (what I hear you saying…)

26. Go to the balcony cont.: • Reactions: fight back give in break off • Tactics: stonewalling attacking deception/obfuscation good cop/bad cop

27. Step to their side: • Other sides emotional reactions are also a barrier to agreement • Listen with respect, uncover other sides interests. (body language!) • Acknowledge their point with out necessarily agreeing with it or conceding • Paraphrase • Build rapport, find commonality

28. Step to their side cont.: • Do not argue or react, do the opposite. e.g. stonewalling- do not press attack-do not resist or fight. • Acknowledge their feelings (I am sorry you feel that way my experience has been different) • Accumulate yeses, agree where you can (We both feel CE is important, we are just still working on a dollar amount in this contract.)

29. Step to their side cont.: • Not either/or! Instead use both/and! • Realize both positions are understandable in terms of the experience and perception of parties involved. • Not “but” Instead present your views as refutement. • Make I statements not You statements.

30. Step to their side cont.: • Acknowledge differences with optimism “Be bold in acknowledging the other persons views, bold in asserting your own and equally bold in expressing optimism that differences can be resolved.” (Wm Ury)

31. Reframe: • Change the game - move the other side from position/offer to discussion of interests • Enroll the opposition as a partner in problem solving not an adversary • Treat position statements as informative not alternative (e.g. I see this very important to you tell me more about why you want this?)

32. Reframe Cont.: • Consider asking for advice on how other side would address your interests and achieve accord (very useful when you are the junior in negotiating!) “Power of positive perception” reframe positions in problem solving language e.g. “it”

33. Reframe Cont.: • Ask the right question, don’t dictate the right answer • Let the problem teach • Ask open ended questions! (how,why,what who) • Be indirect not directly confrontational

34. Reframe Cont. Questions • Why? • What are your concerns? • Why not do it this way? • What would be wrong with this approach? • What would you do here to meet my interests?

35. Reframe Cont. Questions • Consider stating your interests first to build trust and rapport (teach, lead) • State your perception of other sides interests and concerns and let them correct you.

36. Reframe Cont. Questions • What if? That’s one possibility… purpose options with out challenging. • Reframe oppositions position as one of many reasonable alternatives.

37. Reframe Cont. Questions • What makes that fair? (You obviously have good reasons for seeing this as an equitable solution can you share them?) • If other side rejects your standard of fairness ask them to suggest another (I see you do not accept the well mp standards for associate compensation. What standards do you use to assess salary?)

38. Reframe Cont. Tactics 1. Stonewalling: ignore, reinterpret or test 2. Attack: ignore, reframe as attack on problem not you, go to we language not me and you, reframe past wrongs (blaming) as future remedies 3. Expose tricks: play along ask clarifying questions (are you saying you would like to reopen negotiation?) 4. Negotiate the rules of the game

39. Build a golden bridge: • Obstacles to agreement -not my idea -unmet interests -fear of losing face -too much too fast

40. Build a golden bridge cont.: • Reframe a retreat from a position of movement toward a better solution. • Build a new idea together do not just state your solution (questions not statements) This allows the other side to take ownership and insures participation Brainstorm, ask for ideas

41. Build a golden bridge cont.: • How can we make this better for your side with out making it worse for mine?

42. Golden bridge cont.: • Identify low cost high benefit trades (MAKE A LIST) • Propose alternatives/options if other side is reluctant to give feedback. • Utilize if-then language

43. Golden bridge cont.: • Identify and satisfying unmet interests • Don’t dismiss as irrational • Don’t overlook basic human needs • Don’t assume you can’t meet their interests with out undermining your own. • Adopt an abundance mentality

44. Golden bridge cont.: • Saving Face: not just ego involves self worth, dignity, integrity, sense of honor, appearance to others • Techniques: circumstances have changed help write their victory speech point to a standard of fairness 3rd party recommendation

45. Golden bridge cont.: • Break big changes into smaller ones (e.g. time ended trial period) • Sum up progress periodically, stress areas of accord (e.g. We agree on compensation and CE now we can work through hours worked and schedule) • Do not ask for final commitment until the end. • Do not rush

46. Use Power to Educate • “An eye for an eye and we all go blind” Gandhi

47. Power to Educate cont.: • Remind other side goal is win-win not win-lose, positive consequences of agreement (e.g. if we can find a solution to the issue of scheduling you will have a motivated well trained associate with potential for later buy-in and I will have a secure position in a practice I can be proud of)

48. Power to Educate cont.: • Explore the negative consequences of no agreement with reality testing questions • What do you think would happen if we don’t agree? • What do you think I will do? • What will you do? • Is that preferable to considering alternatives here

49. Power to Educate cont.: • Keep proposing the golden bridge • Use minimum power necessary • Respectfully advise, never threaten • Don’t be distrustful - design agreements to operate independent of trust

50. Remember negotiating is hard for both sides!