Become A Master Negotiator

What happens when you put the following people into one room: David Stern (The Commissioner of the NBA), Billy Hunter (Union Executive Director), a selected group of NBA team owners, and last, a group of players who happen to be some of the highest paid people in America? You end up with a room full of egos so big that they don’t have the capacity to negotiate to a win-win outcome.

This group of individuals has met many times in hopes of coming to some type of outcome that both sides could agree on. Most recently, negotiations broke down after a 3 day marathon session, complete with a mediator who had successfully helped the NFL and MSL come to win-win outcomes. At this point, there have been no new dates set for both sides to come together and meet again.

What are the sticking points? The sides remain divided over three main issues: the division of revenues, the structure of the salary cap system and the length of the players’ contracts. First, let’s discuss the revenue split. Under the current contract, the players have 57 percent of the split in an environment where NBA owners have lost around $300 million. The owners have insisted a 50-50 split under the new contracts before they even begin discussing the salary cap. Prior to the last negotiations breaking down, the players seemed to be entertaining a 50-53 percent sliding scale, depending on revenues. The owners don’t seem to be budging and are trying to get back about 700 million dollars they have lost. The owners currently claim that 22 out of 30 NBA franchises lose money each year. To help the NBA franchises be more profitable, the owners are trying to negotiate shorter contract lengths while, naturally, the players want longer contract lengths. Ultimately, the owners need to run their teams more like a business that consistently makes a profit.

So why do we say that everyone loses in this situation? It has long been our belief that, in a short period of time, people seldom gain back what they lost during a strike. It will take years for the players and the owners to re-coup the loses they are currently experiencing. One challenge the NBA has is that some teams make a ton of money, some teams lose a ton of money. The teams that lose a ton of money each year may actually be financially ahead by not playing ball. This makes it even harder for the owners to come to a quick agreement on a winnable outcome. So who is losing right now?

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In a negotiation, there are times when you have to tell your counterpart “No.” The challenge is that for some people, the word “no” is the equivalent of a four letter word. Telling your counterpart a resounding “No,” could cause the negotiation to deteriorate to the point that neither counterpart is able to achieve a win-win outcome.

Currently, the major grocery store chains of Ralphs, Albertsons and Vons are in negotiations over a contract defining new wage and benefits. The grocery stores want their employees to take on more responsibility in paying for their health care benefits. Both sides have said a resounding, “No,” to each other’s proposals and at this point, there is a threat of a strike. Because of the damage done to both sides in the strike that occurred two contract negotiations ago, it is our prediction that this mediation will be resolved without progressing to a strike. So, when you need to say, “No,” what are other options that may help resolve the disagreement. The following 8 tips will help to move your negotiation forward:

1. Just say it: Although uncomfortable for some people, the easy way to tell a counterpart, “No,” without any mixed signals is simply to look them in the eye and say, “No, I am not going to agree to that.”

2. Conditional ‘No’: This technique works exceptionally well for the amiable person who does not like looking people square in the eye and telling them an outright, “No.” Instead of telling your counterpart, “No, I can’t/won’t do that for you,” use a ‘conditional no’ and say, “I can’t get the project done for you this week, but I can work on it later this month, if that will work for you.”

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