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NEGOTIATION
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CHAPTER 7
7.11 HOW TO BREAK A DEADLOCK
Deadlocks happen when parties fail to agree. There are situations where all
routes to settlement have been explored, all tactics tried, and all avenues of
conciliation and aggression tested. Yet points still remain on which neither side
is prepared to concede to reach agreement.
Imagine the case of a supplier that has been identified as the sole supplier
of a product or service. The product or service is essential to your on going
operations and both parties have agreed in general terms on a co-operative
partnership. Prices are within budget (after negotiation); delivery terms and
conditions acceptable; the supplier stockholding commitments are adequate
to ensure on going availability; and the supplier has even agreed to a training
commitment to ensure your employees do not cause unnecessary failures of
the product. Still, after all this, you are under instruction to implement company
policy of securing a 12-month full warranty, and the supplier is not prepared to
offer more than six months, which is already double their standard three-month
guarantee. Walking away at this point would mean:
• The supplier would be lost and the time spent up to now wasted.
• The supplier would gain power. He would justifiably use this against you if
you had to re-open negotiations at a later date.
• You would potentially have to rethink your entire operation to compensate
for not having the essential item under negotiation.
• Your customer, the department or individual who made the purchase request
would be angry.
Deadlock is not the end of negotiation unless you allow it to be. Deadlock can
occur, but it is up to you to do something about it. Remember that power in a
negotiation is not unilateral. As soon as a supplier knows you need its product
or service, it also has power over you. Further, do not expect your supplier to
attempt to break the deadlock: it is more likely that both parties will simply go
back to their offices to wait for the other to make the first move. Deadlock is also
about losing or saving face: attempting to reopen negotiations could easily be
seen as a ‘climb-down’ and be exploited by an aggressive counterpart. Let us
be under no illusions: breaking a deadlock can be very difficult. Learn to walk
away from a deal, and walk back to it graciously.
The following ideas will help you return after deadlock with minimum loss of face:
• Change the shape of money. A large deposit, a shorter pay period or a
different cash flow works wonders, even when the total amount of money
involved is the same.
• Change a team member or the team leader.
• Set the problem topic aside temporarily, i.e., postpone some difficult parts
of the agreement for re-negotiation at a later time when more information
is available.
• Suggest the possibility of risk sharing. Awillingness to share unknown losses