Improve Your Negotiations With The 5 Golden Rules.   LEARN THEM

I recently had knee replacement surgery, and the post-surgery rehabilitation phase has been challenging. Everything went well surgery-wise, but the rehab – to be successful long-term – has required a surprising level of perseverance, dedication, discipline, and commitment.

Interestingly, success here requires the same qualities as the key element to achieving better negotiation results – the shift from an instinctive approach to strategic based on the experts’ proven research.

Here are some qualities to bring to every negotiation – and to any joint rehab program.

  • Long-term goals. After consulting with my surgeon and physical therapist, we set an aggressive yet realistic goal to be back to my normal daily activities (including travel and training programs) within four weeks and playing tennis at 4-5 months. So far so good! Likewise, you can’t negotiate strategically if you don’t know what you want to achieve at the end of the day. Fundamental concept.
  • Commitment to achieve your goals. Successful rehab requires a high level of mental and physical commitment to your goals (what I call “stick-to-it-iveness”). The focus to keep up the stretches and exercises despite their discomfort and time-consuming nature. I’m told the number one reason for unsuccessful knee replacement surgeries results from patients failing to consistently complete daily post-surgery rehab efforts (mine takes almost 5 hours/day). This is not surprising. It’s hard. But it’s worth it. Just like an ongoing commitment to your strategic negotiation goals despite the inevitable curveballs and obstacles sent your way.
  • Practical strategic plan based on the experts’ research. My surgeon and his team gave me a written plan, right after the surgery, laying out exactly what I needed to do to achieve success. I also met with an at-home physical therapist the next day who reaffirmed the crucial nature of the plan and told me exactly how to perform each exercise and stretch. I wasn’t left to instinctively figure out how to rehab. The experts told me what to do and gave me a practical way to achieve it. Successful negotiations require strategic plans based on the experts’ proven research – just like rehab. Don’t negotiate instinctively.
  • Written checklist for each plan element. I created an easy-to-use written checklist for each exercise and stretch. I check it off on my phone every time I complete an element. Not only does this give me a sense of accomplishment, but it helps me be accountable for my progress. The rehab-prescribed recumbent bike also tracks my daily progress and synchs with my surgeon after every completed activity, providing third party accountability. Similarly, simple, easy-to-use and expert-based checklists for Strategic Negotiation Plans help ensure you actually implement proven strategies and tactics (See my column “No Time To Plan” and Atul Gawande’s bestselling book The Checklist Manifesto for more on this.). Sharing your goals and strategic plan checklist with a colleague will also help you actually do it – just like my rehab bike with my surgeon.
  • Coach/expert to help plan and implement at-the-table modifications. Every joint rehab plan requires on-the-spot changes based on the patient’s progress and physical needs and limitations. My physical therapist provides this crucial function and, in effect, serves as my coach/consultant to make sure I’m implementing the plan correctly. He also provides expert advice to appropriately modify the plan and, critically, brings a positive, can-do attitude to the effort. Expert negotiation coaches and consultants play a similar role in many significant negotiations. Strategic plans serve a crucial function. So does the ability to recognize and modify your strategies at the table.
  • Measure your progress – and learn from it. My recumbent bike includes a program that measures my progress and pain level. Why? So we can evaluate and learn from it during and after my rehab. Debriefing after a negotiation – identifying what worked and what didn’t – will help you improve your results in your next negotiation (and the next and …). Lifelong learning!

Latz’s Lesson: Knee rehab and negotiation seemingly have nothing in common. But they do. Goals. Commitment. Strategic plans. Checklists. Outside experts. Even debriefing. Both benefit from these.

  * Marty Latz is the founder of Latz Negotiation, a national negotiation training and consulting company that helps individuals and organizations achieve better results with best practices based on the experts’ research. He can be reached at 480.951.3222 or Marty@LatzNegotiation.com.

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