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NEGOTIATION

167

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