I know, I know, I said there were 10 Rules for successful negotiating.
So what’s this 11th Rule?
Well not a Rule per se, but just what I would think of as just simple common sense.

Don’t negotiate in public!

Most of my negotiations have taken place in the public sector. Which means I negotiated contracts for government agencies. It doesn’t mean we “negotiated” in public. Why not? Because nothing good will come of it.

Think about it. I know the media types would say the public has a right to know. They do, I agree. But only the final result. Not the give and take that takes place before you’ve reached the final settlement.

I recently read an article about a local county representative who was asked to comment on the union’s initial proposal on wages. The official responded with surprise at the amount proposed. “We can’t afford it without raising taxes!”
The response was intended no doubt to gain the public’s sympathy.

A quick universal negotiation rule of thumb: The union will always ask for more – more that they expect they will settle for and the employer will always ask for less – less than they expect to settle for.

During many of my contract negotiations, I had to calm down my team after they received the union’s list of demands. “How dare they ask for fill in the blank!” It’s only their initial proposal I’d say. No one comes in with their final proposal. It’s all designed to start at an extreme position and finish in the middle.
And both sides do it too.

But back to negotiating in public. Why not do it if it gives you some leverage? Trust me it’s not worth it.
It will ultimately lead to creating some embarrassment for the other side. And that will lead to to a reluctance to reach a resolution.

In the article I read, I would venture a strong guess that a member of the management team leaked the union’s proposal to the local media. They probably did it to get the support of the taxpaying public on their side.
Maybe to make the officials popular come election time.

But doesn’t the union do the same thing? Don’t they try to garner support through their “informational” pickets?
Yes they do.
But I don’t mind them. Those pickets really just serve the purpose to rev up the union membership. The public really doesn’t care.

In order to reach a resolution, both sides have to believe that each side is working to resolve out standing issues.
It’s the only way to settle a contract. If one side is embarrassed because the other side went to the public and revealed what was proposed or said at the table it becomes less likely a compromise solution will come about.
In other words, it makes it more difficult to
REACH a RESOLUTION!

JT
Check the video link below and
keep your eyes wide open; keep your arms by your side!