Geof Cox's latest book Negotiations: How to Achieve Win‐Win Outcomes does “exactly what it says on the tin”, providing practical guidance on the processes and behaviours required to conduct successful negotiations where all parties feel they have achieved something positive.
This book is a typical example of what you would expect from the Financial Times Essential Guide series. It is straightforward, well‐structured and presents a clear process for anyone wanting advice and tips on negotiation. The premise of the book is that negotiation is a key skill which we all need virtually every day, and the focus of Cox's commentary is on business negotiations. This book is aimed at anyone working in business, from multi‐national corporations to charities and SMEs.
Geof Cox's authority for writing on this topic is evident, having worked, as he puts it, at the “sharp end” of industrial relations, cutting his teeth with Esso Petroleum in Birmingham, then contributing to wage negotiations between the UK oil industry and the trade unions. He has helped to negotiate national landmark deals as well as settle local disputes. Working with multinational companies on commercial deals, partnership agreements, off‐shoring arrangements and outsourcing has enabled him to provide an extra international dimension to this book on remote and cross‐cultural communication, which might not always be so prevalent in other texts on this subject.
Cox's key message about negotiation is that win‐win solutions are almost always possible and will be the best outcome for all involved. He contends that many parts of our business community still adopt a competitive approach to negotiation, using combative methods such as sealed bids to identify the lowest price with the most advantageous terms. He warns that activities such as this are frequently counterproductive and that choosing the cheapest option will often result in selecting the supplier who can cut the most corners to drive down price, thus compromising on the quality of the resulting service or product. Cox promotes a different approach, “an approach which will enable you to negotiate deals so that you can get what you want and at the same time maintain (and even build) a positive working relationship with the other party”. To achieve this, planning, appropriate communication and relationship building are paramount to success.
The book is divided into three main parts offering a practical guide to the skills and process of negotiation: Part 1 – Planning it, Part 2 – Doing it and Part 3 – Reviewing It. Part 1 introduces the thinking behind win‐win negotiations and how to plan to be successful. Key phases of the negotiation process are presented, with checklists and guidance on preparation. Part 2 focuses on the mechanics of conducting the negotiation and includes some useful insight into using different communications styles appropriately throughout the process. There are also hints and tips here on tactics and dealing with dirty tricks! The final part contains a number of checklists and review questions to help the reader assess their negotiation practices.
For me the most useful part of this book is the model Cox presents for planning and conducting a negotiation (a model he calls OPEC – Opening, Positioning, Exploring, Closing) and his mapping of appropriate communication styles (shifting focus through ideas, process, people, action) across the different stages. As a trainer I will definitely be able to make use of these on training courses. The model provides an accessible approach to negotiation which anyone, in any type of business, could adopt. The focus on relationship building and the importance of using the right communication style at the right time is something I would build into the skills development aspect of a negotiation skills programme and are indeed the skills that most of the people I work with are looking to build on. For those who work with businesses abroad the book is also peppered throughout with advice on dealing with different cultures and nationalities. Although I found the review checklists in part 3 a little disappointing, as they only had the usual reflective devices of “what did you do well/what could you improve”, the questions he poses are useful and would provide a good resource for developing a tool to review negotiation skills.
