Whether it’s getting kids to stop fighting in the backseat, closing a big deal with a tricky client, or trying to buy a new car, people engage in negotiations all the time. We’re used to making concessions and playing a little game of give-and-take to reach a compromise. But often those compromises make the deal unsatisfying for both parties.
Take this example from the latest Company Growth Podcast episode. Even if you don’t have kids, you can probably relate to this scenario: a family is going on a road trip. You want to listen to some nice soothing classical music to get you feeling zen on a long drive. Your kids, on the other hand, want to see how many times they can listen to Baby Shark before your head explodes. One common compromise is to listen to the classical music for say, half an hour, and then Baby Shark for a half hour.
In this approach, no one is really happy. You still have to listen to Baby Shark for a half hour, which is still plenty of time for your head to explode, and your kids still have to listen to your torturous classical music for a half hour which, to a kid, feels like a literal eternity. By the end of the hour, you’re starting to believe that ear-worm syndrome might be a real clinical illness and your kids are trying to relieve their intense feeling of boredom by seeing who can kick the back of your seat the hardest.
So no one is happy. What the book Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss suggests is looking for the invisible alternative. Instead of giving both parties less of what they want, look for another option that both parties want. If your kids love the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, the soundtrack would offer you something instrumental and straight from the mind of masterful composer Hans Zimmer, while your kids could remember all their favourite parts of the movies and play along to an energetic pirate theme.
Once you understand this simple trick, you can reframe all kinds of negotiations in your business life so compromises stop feeling like losing. And this is just one of the awesome ways to reframe negotiations that can be found in Chris Voss’s book.
Explore the Best Parts of Never Split the Difference on This Podcast
The Company Growth Podcast is a business podcast where host Alysha Dominico interviews successful business leaders and discusses the business books that stayed with them and helped them become the leaders they are today. On the latest episode, learn why Never Split the Difference is a must-read business book as Alysha discusses the book with Lica Wouters, a revenue ops and growth specialist, and Tracy Graziani, a business owner and CEO.
By listening, you’ll learn:
- How to never split the difference again,
- How to empathize with whoever you're negotiating with to understand how to reach them,
- High-stakes negotiation tactics to use in even the most difficult negotiation, and
- The most applicable lessons from Never Split the Difference and how actual business leaders apply these lessons with real-world examples.
Listen to Our Business Podcast and Learn From the Best Business Books
Listen to the Never Split the Difference episode and learn how to apply tactics used in high-stakes hostage negotiations to your business life, so you never have to split the difference again.
To browse more episodes by topic, visit the Company Growth Podcast webpage.
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References: https://www.blackswanltd.com/never-split-the-difference
