A survey by Ziff Davis asked 300 C-level executives about the relative importance of eight key skills that executives needed to success. On the list, negotiating skills ranked eighth most important – but 50.6% believed their own negotiation skills needed improvement.

In business, we negotiate every day. Project managers, for example, negotiate for resources, scope changes, costs, contracts and a myriad of other critical items. Functional managers and program managers negotiate budgets and resources and sometimes hiring and firing. Auditors negotiate with their customers regarding timing of audit, findings, action dates, and report wording. To move up in an organization, management demands excellent negotiation skills. At the top, the power of negotiation is well-recognized. CEOs sometime use "super lawyers" to negotiate better employment contracts for themselves. Improving your understanding of the negotiation process and your comfort level are keys to improving your skills.

A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge(PMBOK^® Guide) areas covered:
Project Procurement Management, Project Communication Management, Project Human Resource Management. 

Who should attend?
Project managers who wish to improve their negotiation skills. Individuals who are seeking to understand the negotiations process and improve their skills.

How will I benefit?

Develop and enhance the contributions you make to your organization by being able to:

1.     Explain the negotiations process

2.     Understand the importance of BATNA and how to develop it

3.     Plan for their negotiations more effectively

4.     Recognize different types of power and understand each type 

5.     Recognize negotiation traps and how to avoid them

6.     Apply what they have learned to negotiations in their personal life and the business workplace

7.     Develop an action plan for improving their negotiations skills   

What will my seminar experience cover?

Module 1: Roles for Negotiation in Project Management

• Establishing the Triple Constraint
• Stakeholder Expectations
• Other Uses for Negotiations in Project Management

Module 2: Overview of Negotiations

• Definition
• Basic Types of Negotiation – Competitive and Collaborative
• Implications of Differences in Individual Perspectives

Module 3: Key Concepts

• Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement: BATNA
• Zero-Sum Situations
• Zone of Agreement
• Other Terminology

Module 4: Negotiations Process

• Phased Approach to Negotiations
• Similarity to Project Management Phases
• Negotiation Life Cycle
• Strategies and Tactics
• Case Study

Module 5: Possible Situations

• Rules of engagement
• Conflicts
• Deadlocked Negotiations
• Ethical Issues
• Multiple Parties

Module 6: Other Considerations

• Communications Models
• Sources of Power
• Cultural Differences
• Industry specific considerations, e.g. Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) or Information Technology

Module 7: Negotiations in action

• Class exercise
• Post-class plan of action 

What instructional materials will be used?

Lecture, Case Studies, Role Playing, Group Exercises.