Q & A Table of Contents
Getting Russian, Japanese, and American Negotiators on the Same Page
From: Elena, Rostov, Russia
Question: My company plans to negotiate with Japanese and US partners. I should be grateful if you would advise on the necessary team, cultural and general skills required for a successful outcome.
Response: It is easy to fall into the trap of concluding that 'all Americans, all Japanese, or all Russians' negotiate according to national or cultural norms. There is no question that negotiation styles among the three nationalities do vary -- but then, there are also differences between men and women from the same country.
You need to inoculate yourself and your negotiating team-mates to be open-minded to the possibility that the other groups' negotiation styles will be different from your own. Americans have the reputation for wanting to get to the bottom line right away; Japanese negotiators are often characterized as being unable to say 'no' because they don't want to make another party lose face. Your cultural inoculation should be based on a simple concept: "Don't get hung up on style."
Do your best to understand your interests and your BATNA (Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement). Ask yourself why you want a particular result -- and whether there is only one way to get there. Prepare for the negotiation process by doing the best you can to figure out what the interests and BATNAs of the other parties are likely to be. Then use the process to do a reality check on whether those assumptions have been accurate.
Think about why you are negotiating with the other teams. Compare negotiation with weaving: if you weave many strands together you produce a more durable fabric/agreement than if all the ideas come from a single direction.
During the negotiations, keep reminding yourself why you are there. Focus on your own interests: "How will this answer or proposal serve my interests?" That way you can avoid being confused by issues of cultural dissonance. For example, if it is true that the Japanese party keeps saying "Yes", you should ask "Does this mean you are ready to sign an agreement with me now on this particular point?" Explain to them that if they say 'yes' but mean 'no', it could cause you to lose face with the other negotiating parties or within your own team. If the American negotiators try to rush you into agreement, rather than getting angry it would make more sense to say, "My/our decision-making process has to work in the following way (and explain it as clearly as you can)." Keeping the negotiation process transparent, making sure all parties understand what is going on, can reduce the likelihood that cultural characteristics will cause things to fall apart.
Keep asking questions: "Why am I here?" "Why did he ask that question?" "Is the answer I am about to present going to serve my interests or hurt them?" "Did he/she say that to annoy me, because it is a common negotiation tactic in their country, or because they really intended to make a point with which I happen to disagree?"
Negotiation success depends on bringing together the ideas and contributions of people who are coming from different angles. Recognize that people differ for all kinds of reasons -- and that those differences can contribute to a better agreement.
Good luck and good negotiating,
Steve
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