Top Ten Independent Standards

Posted on | July 17, 2009 |

Why should you use objective criteria to support your moves or offers and concessions in a negotiation? Because we derive power and legitimacy from the perception that our standards and criteria are based on objective, independent factors. If our positions are based on truly objective, independent standards, our counterparts will more likely conclude our position is truly “fair and reasonable.”

Focusing on objective, independent standards also depersonalizes negotiations by appearing to remove parties’ subjectivity from the process. The more objective and independent and the less subjective the negotiation, the less likely potentially disruptive overt emotion will be involved.

Here are my Top Ten Independent Standards:

1. Market Value
2. Precedent
3. Tradition
4. Expert- and Scientific-Judgment
5. Efficiency
6. Costs and Profits
7. Policy
8. Reciprocity
9. Status
10. Professional or Industry Standards

For a comprehensive discussion of each, sign up for a free trial of my ExpertNegotiator Planning & Management Software to access the online version of my book, Gain the Edge! Negotiating to Get What You Want (St. Martin’s Press 2004).

Marty Latz is the founder of Latz Negotiation Institute, a national negotiation training and consulting company, and ExpertNegotiator, a Web-based software company that helps managers and negotiators more effectively negotiate and implement best practices based on the experts’ proven research. He is also the author of Gain the Edge: Negotiating to Get What You Want. He can be reached at 480-951-3222 or Latz@ExpertNegotiator.com.

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