You Can Learn How to Win, Even If You Play Defense

THE ART OF NEGOTIATION REQUIRES ADEQUATE PLANNING AND SPECIALIZED TRAINING TO DEAL WITH INTERCULTURAL SETTINGS, AS ILLUSTRATED BY THE CASE HISTORY OF THE ITALIAN MINISTRY OF DEFENSE

by Leonardo Caporarello, Dept. of Management and Technology, Bocconi
Translated by Alex Foti


Every day we are all involved, either consciously or not, in negotiations both in our working and private lives. Negotiation, in fact, is that process of communication through which two or more parties discuss and bargain to possibly reach a common agreement. It is a kind of interaction that is present in all cultures and societies, no matter their level of economic development and their history.
 
By narrowing the focus on jobs and business, there is no sector or type of activity, whether public or private, where you don't have to negotiate on a daily basis on a wide range of issues or subjects. Such a pervasive and recurring activity cannot be left to improvisation: in order to negotiate effectively, it is necessary to have specific preparation and skills that can be developed and honed through specialized training. This is all the more true if interlocutors ("counterparties") with whom we are negotiating have a cultural background that differs from ours: this kind of "intercultural" negotiations must be comprehensively understood and managed to avoid unpleasant surprises.
 
A particularly striking example of the need for specialized negotiators is the Defense sector. Those working in this area are often required to handle conflictual situations and sensitive bargaining items, in highly formalized hierarchical contexts that are almost always intercultural.
 
As emerged from a survey conducted on civilian and military personnel of the Italian Ministry of Defense, however, until a few years ago those who were in charge of dealing with thorny situations generally learned on the field without prior negotiating experience, nor ad hoc training. In the course of negotiating with foreign counterparts, there was perception of a gap in its level the preparation: in the eyes of Italian negotiators, their interlocutors, especially European and American ones, often seemed to have a better awareness of national goals, a greater ability to listen and, in general, a more systematic approach to negotiating the issues discussed.
 
Moreover, among Italian negotiators there was not always knowledge of the fact that negotiating does not necessarily lead to a fixed and unchanging set of payoffs based on a win-lose logic. To the contrary, in many cases (though not always) through negotiation it is possible to generate additional value for the benefit of all parties (the win-win integrative approach).
 
In order to develop the negotiating skills of the Italian Defense staff, there are a number of possible interventions that have been proposed, such as the organization of structured training courses, the introduction of on-the-job training, and the creation of an IT platform for the exchange of experience and information between negotiators in the military sector.
 
As demonstrated by the experience of the Italian Ministry of Defense, structured training, moments of discussion and exchange between negotiators, and on-the-job experience are key elements for the full development of negotiating skills in whatever domain people have to operate. Negotiating is a complex activity that needs to be adequately planned, while always keeping in mind that lack of agreement is not necessarily failure and that, conversely, sealing an agreement is not always a victory.