IT Management Slideshow: Negotiation Bootcamp

Love it or hate it, negotiation is probably intrinsic to your daily life. It's a given part of the recruitment process when you hire IT employees. Most likely you've negotiated your own employment contracts, salary increases, raise and other benefits. And, of course, your arrangements with vendors are often all about getting the best possible deal. But, for many of us, negotiation does not come naturally, and as a result we fail to come to the bargaining table with the best possible strategies. So say the authors of the book, The One Minute Negotiator: Simple Steps to Reach Better Agreements. (Berrett-Koehler/Available now). Among the behaviors that signal weak negotiating skills is a tendency to "avoid at all costs" out of fear that you will get into arguments. Or, you may be reluctant to play the part of designated "haggler." Equally damaging is the tendency toward the opposite extreme: aggressively drawing a "take it or leave it" line in the sand. Don Hutson and George Lucas, authors of The One Minute Negotiator, contend that learning the right negotiating tactics will be time-efficient and beneficial to all parties. Using an illustrative narrative, they present "action steps" you can use to achieve the best results and even encourage future productive business down the road. Hutson is chairman/CEO of U.S. Learning and chairman of the board of Executive Books. Lucas is executive vice president for U.S. Learning.