“To make the predictable more favorable, address the unpredictable parts of such aspects.” -Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert
“Predictions”
Do you make predictions and then lack in the preparation to deal with the unpredictable aspect of those predictions? Here’s my prediction. If you don’t plan for the unpredictable, the unpredictable will make plans for you. That means the unpredictable will have more control of your life, than you controlling the unpredictable.
In life, it’s the little things that we’d not planned for that upends us at times. Of course, we can’t plan for everything and some things that we don’t plan for are pleasant surprises. It’s those major things that start as something small that builds up over time that causes us angst. It’s like when we were in our teen years and had to deal with acne. If our face was not cleansed with regularity pimples would form. That was predictable. Even so, some teens would neglect the necessary cleansing process until their neglected face was inflamed. Then, they’d take hurried actions in an effort to eradicate the situation.
The question you might consider asking yourself is, what proverbial pimples are forming in your life that you could prevent from occurring if you took appropriate actions sooner than later? The answer, while not the end-all to all of your problems, maybe more simplistic then you realize. It’s something to note as one way to tame the unpredictable and in so doing, make your future less harmful where dread might await you.
- Have a sense of direction and purpose in your life.
- Set goals for where you’d like to be based on the timeframe you set to achieve the goal in its totality.
- Use little milestones to measure the degree of accomplishment you’re making towards the overall goal.
- Be prepared to make corrections when you sense such is required.
- Never view an outcome as a failure. Instead, view it as an occurrence from which you learned something of value, as something that will add value to your goals.
Here’s the point, the sooner you prepare for the unpredictable the better you’ll be prepared to deal with it … and everything will be right with the world.
What does this have to do with negotiations?
Depending on the length of a negotiation, something that you’d not considered will occur; that’s the predictable aspect of the unpredictable. When that occurs, have a plan in place to address it. That plan can be as simple as calling a timeout to remove yourself from the negotiation to consider how to respond to the situation. To the degree you’d accounted for an occurrence that’s similar to the situation that backed you from the negotiation, you can incorporate and implement parts of that plan into your responding action. From that point, you’ll be better prepared to continue the negotiation.
What are your takeaways? I’d really like to know. Reach me at Greg@TheMasterNegotiator.com
Remember, you’re always negotiating.
#HowToNegotiateBetter #CSuite #TheMasterNegotiator