SIG SAYS: “We learned a long time ago—you build relationships before you build positions.”

MAYA SAYS: “Have you considered asking what problem they’re trying to solve before responding to their proposal?”

 

The Conversation:
Experience teaches you that successful bargaining starts with relationships. Trust built between negotiations can often accomplish more than arguments made at the table.

But Maya raises an important point: a proposal isn’t always the problem—it’s one side’s proposed solution to a problem.

Before immediately accepting, rejecting, or countering a proposal, ask why it is being raised. What are they trying to fix? What concern are they hearing from members? What outcome are they looking for?

Once both sides understand the underlying issue, there may be solutions neither side considered when they walked into the room.

 

The takeaway:
Don’t just negotiate positions. Understand the problem first.
I like this considerably more than the data version because it makes Sig, the experienced relationship-builder and Maya, the person introducing a modern problem-solving approach. Neither diminishes the other, which should be the core personality of the Sig & Maya series.