Negotiating for Success
Whether negotiating documents or resolving a dispute, the way to succeed is to have an early, thoughtful conversation with key client decision-makers. When you go into a negotiation, you must have a result in mind. You should start the negotiation at a place that you believe will get you to the end result. I think people often make the mistake of going in and starting where they want to end up, which makes accomplishing your goal difficult. You have to recognize that it is a negotiation and there is some give and take over the course of several hours or over the course of several days. You have to be thoughtful on the way in, think about your objective, and then plot your course until you end up where you truly want to end up. I think another key element of successful negotiation is that those who are particularly successful understand the ethic of creating a win/win situation. If both parties walk away thinking they’ve won, you have done a very good job.
The way I measure success is through the reaction of my clients to my efforts. I feel a genuine joy knowing that I’ve worked with a company and the company has grown, has been successful, and has done wonderful things. There is really nothing that replaces that feeling. Nothing beats being part of a winning team. Having a relationship with your clients and sharing in their successes is really what makes practicing law wonderful.