The Solution to Negotiation Deadlocks — Hint: It’s Neither Compromise Nor Coercion
Compromise is the process of finding a middle ground between two positions or solutions. The middle ground is not capable of generating sustainable solutions to today’s problems. Because of this our society may at last be on the brink of evolving beyond our traditional over-reliance on compromise as a first-choice problem-solving strategy.
Why is compromise an ineffective negotiation strategy in the twenty-first century? Today’s world is far more interconnected than it has ever been. Today’s challenges are far more complex than they have ever been. The best obtainable outcome compromise can create is an agreement in which all parties walk away from the negotiating table feeling equally ripped off. This is why compromise is an inadequate strategy for creating sustainable solutions.
The only other problem-solving strategy most people know is coercion: forcing our will onto others. But, coercion is even worse than compromise.
If remedies for our challenges cannot be created by compromise or coercion, then what problem-solving strategy can do this? Fortunately, there is a third negotiation style. It is called synergy. Synergy integrates everyone’s perspectives in order to form a complete picture. Integrated pictures in turn reveal more complete solutions than any single perspective can see on its own. This is how synergy takes people far beyond compromises unsatisfying ritual of meeting in the gray middle.
Humility is the gateway into synergy. Recognizing that no single party can accurately grasp the big picture is the kind of humility that synergy requires. There are two ingredients beyond humility that synergy requires:
1. Core Intention Discovery: Looking behind the positions people have taken and the solutions they have proposed to identify the fundamental values and purposes beneath them. This means becoming understanding the outcome people are seeking from the solutions they are suggesting.
2. Merging Core Intentions: One everyone’s core intentions are clear, they are combined in order to reveal the bigger picture. Once this picture is clear to all, creative solutions can be brainstormed that do a far better job of serving the common good than any one party could have created. This is what makes synergy superior to compromise and coercion.
Our society is at a problem-solving turning point. Will we keep depending on compromise and coercion to generate solutions simply because we are accustomed to them, or will we instead choose to match the strategy we use with the needs we have by turning to synergy instead? Coercion and compromise are out of step with the needs we have. Synergy is the only one of the three problem-solving strategies we can use to negotiate truly sustainable solutions. The time has come to make synergy our first-choice strategy for solving problems and negotiating solutions.
Even though most of us are more familiar with coercion and compromise, synergy is a very learnable negotiation and solution-creation skill. Start mastering the art of synergy today.
