Cameron and Clegg – great negotiators?
I promise to cover something non-political soon but, given the events of the last week, it seems appropriate to discuss what we can learn from the politicians about negotiating strategies.
My first thought when Clegg disappeared to talk to Labour was “how sneaky of him”. Then I thought; hang on, wouldn’t I do this, even if I had a supplier I was very keen to use, just to make sure that supplier knows I have a real alternative? It is all about developing your BATNA (best alternative to a negotiated agreement), a fundamental concept in negotiation. It was I believe first proposed by Fisher and Ury, the authors of Getting to YES. If you haven’t read it, it is thoroughly recommended – the best basic, but not simplistic, book on negotiation I know.
Anyway, Clegg’s tactics worked – Cameron came back with an improved offer pretty quickly.
Then I wondered about Cameron. Had he given too much away on his side of the negotiation? Perhaps he was taking the long view. You can’t beat the other party around the head during the negotiation phase then turn round and expect a happy, smiling ‘strategic partnership’ (although I’ve seen plenty of people try!). So did Cameron sacrifice a bit of up-front benefit for the sake of the longer-term relationship?
As Andy Davies points out here, the whole negotiation process on both sides appeared to be pretty well planned and executed as well. Clegg had his list of points, fallback positions and so on; negotiation teams had been selected and briefed well in advance of all this happening. Good lessons for us.
The final point that occurred to me was this. There was some suggestion that Clegg and perhaps even Cameron ‘used’ the negotiations with Labour to help persuade their own people that the Conservative/Liberal Democrat deal was the right one. That has parallels to our world. I’ve had relatively straightforward negotiations with a supplier; then pain and suffering trying to persuade my own colleagues to use a deal, change suppliers or whatever. Internal negotiations can be tougher than external.
I suspect Cameron and Clegg were aware of this and played that into their strategies as well. And those internal aspects will no doubt raise their heads again over the coming months.
In the meantime, we wait for the cuts, the tax rises, the efficiency savings, and the exciting prospect of seeing the government “negotiate significant cost reductions in the contracts held by government departments with major suppliers” as the Tories put it – now that will be an excellent piece of negotiation!
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It is not good news for our profession. Within their terms of office, it seems unlikely that the government will expand the present corporate procurement function and structure. Perhaps, we just wish that they would not make certain existing posts for the purchasing and supply redundant.
Nick Clegg has displayed real prowess as a negotiator but Cameron needs to be congratulated on his vision and decisiveness. Those are traits we will need on the road to recovery.
The art of good negotiation is said to be making concessions that cost little, whilst getting what you want. That appears to be what happened last week, at least for the Conservatives. Cameron appears to have conceded very little, and got almost everything he wanted. The cuts, nuclear weapons, Europe, you name it, he got it. The one thing he seems to have conceded is a referendum on electoral reform – though the Conservatives will argue against it. On the other hand, the Lib dems got what they wanted: a place in government, with cabinet positions.
I, too, await the significant cost reductions on contracts held, with interest. Even assuming there is scope, it has been pointed out to them that any significant changes to contracts may require a re-tender, under EU Public Procurement Law.