News Announcement:

In January, I attended the World Affairs Conference in Toronto where I presented a speech on Crime and Punishment: The Erosion of Civil Liberties. There are many threats to our civil liberties. The two that concern me the most are complacency and political correctness. Too many people believe that civil liberties will never be eroded or leave it to others to protect them. By not being involved they are ‘enablers’. This means that by doing nothing, they allow civil liberties to be eroded.

Our website, ww.ascutler.com, will be undergoing a modest change. There is a new page devoted to e-learning and distance learning. We are also changing our course structure to reflect the ‘on-demand’ nature of training rather than a rigid schedule.

On March 12,2012, I was honoured to be a co-presenter of the 2012 Golden Whistle Award to Brian Skakun of British Columbia. It is a yearly national award presented to whistleblowers for their “Integrity, Courage, Resolve in the service of Peace, Order and Good Government.”  The Reader’s Digest has profiled him in the April edition on pages 70 and 71.

I am also profiled in the same Readers Digest article on page 75. The article is titled, “Enemies of the State”.

We are still actively searching for one individual who would like to work with us on marketing. This has long term potential. Initially, it is anticipated to be to be a part-time commission position, growing into full-time employment. If you are interested or know anyone who would be interested, please let them know or send an email to ascutler@ascutler.com.

Practical Negotiation: Market and Social Norms

 What is not taught or clearly recognized is the different between Market norms and Social Norms in a negotiation. The two norms relate to how the negotiation is conducted but are embedded in reality rather than the negotiation strategy processes that are taught.

Every skilled negotiator needs to recognize the difference between Market and Social Norms and when each one is applicable.

Market norms are related to cost. This is the view is that you get what you pay for. Social norms, on the other hand, are related to our need for community and our ‘social’ nature. We help each other as part of our humanity, not expecting instant rewards. The two overlap each other and are part of all negotiations –  but should not be confused with each other.

It always helps to provide a simple illustration. Let’s assume that you have a friend who is travelling and need to get to the airport. As a favour, you drive them to the airport and wish them a good flight. This is a Social Norm. Now imagine that they take a taxi to the airport, paying the driver for the trip. This is a Market Norm.

To illustrate how the two can be confused, we need one more scenario. You take your friend to the airport. They offer $20.00 to pay for the trip. How do you feel? Your friend has just changed the Social norm to a Market norm. If you are similar to most people, they have crossed the line. It is no longer a friend doing a favour for a friend. However, it they offered you a bottle of wine as a thank you, without mentioning the price (even if it was more expensive than $20), they have remained in Social norms.

Having introduced the subject, it will be discussed in more detail next month as it relates to hospitality, gifts or bribes in negotiation.

This newsletter contains three parts, a News Announcement regarding items of interest, a Practical Negotiation tip and a brief profile of a trainer

News Announcement:

In late December, Ernie Tannis presented an one-day course on Improved Communications. While the timing between Xmas and New Years was unusual, a large turnout of approximately 25 participants resulted. Based on the participants’ evaluations, this was very successful. For our scheduled courses, see our website (www.ascutler.com).

While it is still early days for the revised focus of our company, our website will be undergoing a revision to add e-learning.

This has two separate components. First is video learning to offer pre-packaged or customized videos that can be shown repeatedly and are designed for individual learning. We will be partnering with Telesto for this need. We are the subject matter experts and Telesto is the expert in presentations. To learn more about video learning, please see their website (www.telesto.ca).

The second component is Distance Learning or Webinars. This type of training comes in many different formats and is customized to the need of the client. It is presented by live video or voice through Skype or presentation software such as Gotomeeting. The pace of the learning is set by the instructor.  There will be a secure channel where the instructor can upload and store learning materials on a 24/7 basis. The instructor authorizes the students that can access these materials.  This is done separately for each course. If desired, students are able to upload completed assignments that are accessible only the instructor.

We are actively searching for one individual who would like to work with us on marketing the training. This has long term potential. Initially, it is anticipated to be to be a part-time commission position, growing into full-time employment. If you know of anyone interested, please send an email to ascutler@ascutler.com.

Practical Negotiation:

When learning about negotiating, a great deal is written about strategies and tactics. There are at least ten different strategies that are proposed. The most popular is Principled (or Win/Win) Negotiation that was originally written in a book titled “Getting to Yes” by Roger Fisher and William Ury of the Harvard Negotiation Project. It is based on negotiating interests not positions. How you can tell what the other negotiator’s interests are is often unclear. In fact, although “Getting to Yes” is taught, the professors or trainers teaching it, ignore the follow-up book by William Ury, “The Power of the Positive No.

I believe that a negotiator should be aware of many strategies that might be needed. However, for most negotiations, it is not necessary to be overly concerned about these strategies.

What is overlooked in the literature and does not appear well researched in “Style” – what the negotiator brings to the table. When you negotiate, you bring your values, your experience, your language skills, your interpersonal skills, your personality, your knowledge and your culture. These all represent the value (as opposed to values) that you represent.

Trainer Profile: Andy Kusi-Appiah

I have known Andy for many years. He has not one, but two M.A.s to his credit. Andy also has extensive experience in training and teaching. Last year, he taught a course at Carleton University. This year, he is teaching at Algonquin College.

Andy is a skilled and knowledgeable instructor with both a strong practical and theoretical foundation. The course he has developed is Leadership Skills Training. Having worked closely with various leaders in the community such as Bob Chiarelli, the former Mayor of Ottawa and current MPP for Ottawa-West Nepean, he is well versed in leadership issues.

Andy is also an active volunteer giving back to the community. He was a soccer coach for many years and served on Ottawa’s Equity & Diversity Advisory Committee, Homelessness Task Force, Task Force on Somali Youth, Tsunami Relief Committee, and Interfaith Ottawa.

Every newsletter or blog contains at least two parts, a News Announcement regarding items of interest and a Practical Negotiation tip or other helpful suggestion. Some future editions will contain a third item – profile of a trainer.

News Announcement:

There is a new Commissioner for Integrity being appointed in the federal government, Mario Dion. This is a position with a high degree of trust involved since his job is to help employees involved in situations trying to prevent corruption and mismanagement (whistleblowers). Interesting, when Mario Dion was the Interim Commissioner, he assured everyone that he could be fair in his dealings and we could trust his integrity. This was because he owed nothing to anyone and would not be the permanent Commissioner. Obviously this was not the case. He now has the permanent job for seven years. This raises a question. Should federal government employees trust Mr. Dion and believe in his integrity?

Our training courses will start again in January. However, due to a special request, we will be running a one day course on Internal Communications on December 29, 2011, between Xmas and New Year. For our scheduled courses, see our website (www.ascutler.com).

Practical Negotiation: Roadblocking

I am in the process of developing a course on Practical Negotiation and in the beginning stages of writing a book.

Five different types of negotiation are taught: Co-operative, Compromise, Accommodation, Adversarial and Avoidance. According to the Western mindset, Co-operative which has each party looking out for the other is preferred. The second best choice is Compromise with each party finding common ground and meeting at some undefined ‘mid-point’.

Accommodation is considered a ‘weak’ negotiation stance in which you please others at the expense of your own interests. Interestingly, accommodation is used very successfully by Asian negotiators. It is all in understanding how it works.

However, Avoidance is considered the weakest of all the negotiation types. Case literature states that with avoidance you ignore issues. It should be used only when problems are trivial or when the costs are much greater than the rewards. Case literature also seems to always teach that you should confront and solve problems rather than avoid them.

Unfortunately, in spite of all my reading, I have not been able to an example where avoidance is considered a useful tool. None of the negotiation literature or books appears to talk about ‘Roadblocking’ which is based on avoidance. Roadblocking is a term that I have coined for an extremely powerful negotiation tool based on avoidance. It is also based on creating the impression that you are protecting the other party from making a serious mistake or see serious problems in the solution suggested. The goal is to prevent a course of action that you perceive is ill advised.

Take a situation in a negotiation where you are talking about who should own the intellectual rights. You know that this could become a confrontation (adversarial) if you try to resolve the issue.  Alternately, you may know that you perceive major problems but have no ready solution available. You avoid direct discussion by commencing a series of leading questions. For example, you might say, with regard to the intellectual property that you perceive long-term problems with on-going relations with the suggestion. You ask the other party how they would solve this. Depending on circumstances, in a public sector negotiation you might ask about the political fall-out that could result while, in a private sector negotiation you might ask about the impact on shareholders perception and stock values. Regardless, while Roadblocking you are demonstrating concern for the other party.

Announcement:

Allan Cutler & Associates now delivers expertly-developed courses that help organizations reach their performance potential. We are committed to helping you achieve excellence in all aspects of your business through training, coaching and consulting. We believe that by providing employees with the right skills and knowledge, even the most successful companies can improve their performance.

A successful business must be up-to-date and knowledgeable. We now offer business training, coaching and consulting services for small, medium and large organizations as well as the public sector.

Our staff can provide custom training or hold private sessions at your preferred locations.  Our most popular courses will be offered on a regular basis, normally twice a year. Class sizes are limited to ensure effectiveness, quality and learner engagement.

Upcoming courses are:

October 5 Strategic Thinking

October 6/7 Change Management

October 12 Telephone Skills

October 17/18 Ethical Procurement

October 19 Business Communication

October 24/25 Leadership Skills Training

October 27 Managing Performance for Results

See our website for a complete list of courses.

Practical Negotiation:

Recently a client reported that they were having difficulty communicating with a firm’s purchasing officer.  Small problems with their contract had not been addressed with the result that they were increasing in severity. The purchasing officer did not answer their calls or emails. Furthermore, the few times that they they did obtain a commitment by email that they would be called, the call never happened.  It came to the point that they wrote to the head of the procurement department to try and resolve this.

They showed me the email that they had sent to the head of procurement. Their email reminded me of important factors in negotiating – the need to be incremental and clear in what you write.

The email stated that they were writing about a problem, had not heard back and asked when the problem would be fixed. The letter was intended to address only one issue – the communication issue with the procurement officer – in other words, being incremental.  It is better to solve one problem at a time.

Additionally, it is necessary to be clear and to careful in how you write. While you may understand what you mean, the reader may read it differently.  In this case, they were writing about a communication issues. However, using unclear wording, the head of procurement understood that they were asking for help in solving all the problems with the contract. As a result, the head of procurement suggested they contact the procurement officer to discuss the problem

Ethics, Values and Faith in Action

Recently I was talking with Bill Carico. His sister, Susan, passed away recently from breast cancer. Bill did the eulogy for her on 1/9/10 to about 600 people at the celebration of her life at Covenant Presbyterian Church, Roanoke, VA.  Included in the eulogy was this brief story about courage and strength of beliefs. It is a story about faith.

“Back in May, Susan and I had a long discussion about the faith we share. One of the things we discussed – of all things – was a situation that arose in 1830 in the case of the U.S. against George Wilson and John Porter. Both men were tried and convicted of robbing the mail service and wounding the mail courier. Both men were given the death penalty. Porter was executed, but for whatever reason, President Andrew Jackson pardoned Wilson.

Surprisingly, Wilson refused the pardon. What were the odds, indeed? This raised a new legal question never before posed. Which prevails, the pardon or the rejection? The case went to the Supreme Court, which ruled that a pardon only has value if it’s accepted, so Wilson won the argument and lost his life.”

Bill had more to say about this but the essence is simple. John Porter was a person willing to pay the ultimate earthly price. It would have been easy to accept the pardon. The hard choice was refusing. The hard choice was having faith that he was doing the right thing.

Practical Negotiation: Framing – Speaking for Emphasis

As stated before, we are human beings and subject to being influenced by the use of language. How information is conveyed aids in negotiation. Punch lines, as demonstrated last time, are used since people hear the end of the sentence more than the beginning. In that way, people remember important points.

However, we must not forget the importance of the start of a sentence. During a negotiation, it is normal for people to drift in and out of a conversation or discussion. People can follow conversations without focusing on every word. There is a time when it is important that the other person focuses. To do this, we need emphasis words. Two examples are given below.

“First let us discuss the details, second we will make an action plan and third we will designate who will be responsible for implementation.”

Contrast that with,

“Number 1: we need to discuss the details.  Number 2: we will make an action plan. Number 3 we will designate who will be responsible for implementation.”  or

“1: we need to discuss the details. 2: we will make an action plan. 3: we will designate who will be responsible for implementation.”

The first example (first, second, third) does not bring a person back into focus quickly. The discussions blend together. Numbering creates a distinct list. Stating a number that is to be sequential during a conversation focuses attention. We stop and listen.

Words like “but, however, since, many, etc.” do not focus us. Words like “One, A, B” create the focus.

The best focus is to use the person’s first name for emphasis. “Stan, do you agree?”,  “David suggested…”

Training:

After much discussion and analysis, Allan Cutler & Associates is expanding its services. We are moving into the training field focusing on corporate training. This has been a year in development and we will be supported by a cadre of qualified professionals.

With the increased resources we will be offering a variety of courses on a twice a year basis. These courses will be at least a full day in length and focused on a business audience. In addition, we will also be able to offer customized courses to client needs that can be presented on their premises.

Should expertise in a particular business subject area be required on an ongoing basis, this can also be arranged.

Should you are interested or know of someone who would be interested in corporate training, please let us know. We are always on the lookout for professionals that can add to our ability to help our clients.

Negotiating Tip: Framing

In the last blog/newsletter, the issue of framing was explored. It is worth repeating that the old adage is true, “It is not what you say, it is how you say it!” Framing is all about the way that a message is conveyed.

However, there is even more to framing that was mentioned in the last communiqué. We are human beings and therefore subject to being influenced by the use of language. In many ways negotiation strategy and techniques are not as important as how we convey our message. Knowing how to use the language aids in negotiation

With this in mind, we turn to the subject of using punch lines. Punch lines are more commonly known as part of a joke. A punch line is the last word or sentence in a joke. Almost no punch lines are funny out of context but the punch line functions as the climatic part of the act. With the emphasis on the last words spoken, these words are more memorable.

Look at the following few punch lines:

“Where there’s a will, I want to be in it.”

“As I’ve said before, I never repeat myself.”

“Sometimes I need only what you can provide: your absence.”

Stop and think for a minute why these punch lines work. If you are like most people, you hear the end of the sentence more than the beginning. In other words, the most important words spoken are at the end of the sentence. If they were spoken earlier in the sentence, you would not remember what was said with the same clarity.

This applies in negotiation. Speak or write with the emphasis on the end of the sentence. For example, which is more powerful?

“Today, at the latest, we need to come to an agreement.”  or  “We need, at the latest, to come to an agreement today.”

“You are reducing your price to compensate for the problem in delivery.” or “To compensate for the problem in delivery, you are reducing your price.”

In the first case, the time consideration is most critical so the word ‘today’ is what needs to be emphasized. In the second case, the agreement ‘reducing your price’ is more important than the reason so it should be at the end of the statement. Knowing how people listen, can help you be more effective in negotiation.

This takes practice but is another example of framing in negotiation.

I originally planned on sending out an email or to write a blog every month starting in January of this year. Between an increase in business and university courses, this has not happened. Time is always in short supply.

In the past few months, consulting has increased. I am working hard for various clients helping them develop a coordinated, structured process for public bidding. With an estimate of over 50% of all purchases being done by the public sector, this is considered a critical initiative.

Negotiating Tip: Framing

The old adage is true, “It is not what you say, it is how you say it!” Framing is all about the way that a message is conveyed. For example if a doctor told you that that you needed an operation and there was a 95% chance that you would live through it, you would be much more receptive than if you had been told there was a 5% chance that you would die.

There are negotiation strategies that tell you that you should remove emotion from negotiations. However, Framing demonstrates this is impossible. Emotions enter into every negotiation. The use of emotions in a negotiation is an asset if used properly. The key is control.

If we were truly rational, dispassionate individual it would not be important how it was said. Framing strikes the emotions. What should be said for all negotiation strategies is that emotions are to be controlled. Do not get angry. Emotions can hinder clear thinking or aid clear thinking. It is the negotiator’s job to ensure that they are an aid.

As hard as it is to learn, think before speaking. In that way the issue can be framed as a ‘positive’ instead of a ‘negative’. This is identical to looking at an issue as an obstacle or as a challenge to overcome. In spite of this advice, we all will speak out without thinking at times. This is human nature. What we can and should do is to learn how to speak. This takes time but it can be done.

A year ago I was in the habit of sending out a monthly newsletter. I stopped for a variety of reasons. One was that I found the newsletter had become repetitive. Due to its design, it had fixed Subject Matter headers and I was forced to add content that matched these. The revised format will allow for more versatility as the subject matter will be changed each issue. I also wanted an email that represented my business and the new email does that.

This newsletter is being sent to a variety of audiences. Among them are people interested in procurement, negotiation and business management. Also included are media and a variety of contacts throughout the world involved in ethics (values). The subject matter of the emails will vary to ensure that everyone has subjects of interest to them.

To give a brief update, I decided to go back to university part-time and work on obtaining an MBA. Now I am over half way to completion of the degree with the expected graduation being the fall of 2011. I continue to give speeches on corruption, whistleblowing, the Sponsorship Scandal and management dynamics. Additionally, I teach a course in proposal preparation, “How to Write a Winning Bid” at Carleton University. This spring I will also be adding a course in negotiation.

On the downside, my course in Ethical Negotiation is no longer in demand by the Procurement Management Association of Canada. After giving the course to their members coast to coast for two to three years, they have determined it is no longer required. To the best of my knowledge they have not replaced the course. In any event all the course materials are proprietary since I designed the course.

Some of you may have noticed the business name underwent a minor change. It is now Allan Cutler & Associates instead of A. S. Cutler and Associates. When my website was being redesigned, it was recommended that using my name would be more appropriate. And mentioning my website, please check it out. It has been completely redesigned. The header you see on this email has the new logo representing the Knight from a chess set.

As President of Canadians for Accountability (www.canadians4accountability.org), I continue to speak out and work on whistleblowing and management abuses. This involves writing op-eds for publication, giving speeches, meeting with politicians and interviews to media. I am often requested for interviews and make myself available for all media – print, radio and television.

Finally, I have written two books. You can purchase them directly on my website, www.ascutler.com. There are two books on How to Respond to an RFP. Each book stands along but they are companion books. The first is “Winning Proposal Writing” which discussed how to respond and gives templates and suggestions for writing successful proposals. The second is “Understanding the Bid and Proposal Process” which discusses the various bid documents that will be encountered and helps a bidder understand how proposals are evaluated. The list price for both is $29.95 but they are available at a discount when ordered from the website.

Now that I have given a brief update, the next email will be more focused. If anyone wants to suggest a topic, please do so. This email will also be posted as a blog on my website. The blog allows for direct feedback and commentary.