“A Negotiator’s Work Is Never Done!” Says The Negotiation School’s President

June 29, 2012 - PRLog -- Against the backdrop of an azure Pacific Ocean, Dr. Gary S. Goodman was considering how many cold calls he was going to make.

Inside a beach house someone else was drafting a to-do list, while another person was rehearsing the argument for extending their seaside vacation by a day or two.

What do all of these scenarios have in common? "Sand and sea," you say?

Not quite.

“All of us are negotiating, practically all of the time,” Goodman observes.

In addition to serving as president of The Negotiation School, a worldwide training consultancy, Goodman, is a best-selling author of more than a dozen books, including his current offering, Dr. Gary S. Goodman’s 77 Best Practices In Negotiation.

“The problem is that we negotiate unconsciously, without awareness of the choices and options available,” he points out.

The entire work-and-life balancing act that so many of us are concerned about is an ongoing negotiation, he adds.

“Should I see one more business prospect or arrive on time at my child’s soccer game? Are they paying me enough to take on an extra project at work?”

Goodman files these questions and others like them under the heading, “Bargaining With Ourselves.”

You might have thought of such issues as merely setting priorities, making decisions, or managing time.

But according to this top-ranked negotiation speaker, “These are value-for-value exchanges, making every such calculation, every trade-off, in fact, a negotiation.”

This becomes apparent when we assign dollars and cents to decisions.

You’re at a flea market, see something and think, “This isn’t bad; if I can get it for a buck or two, I’ll buy it.”

Or, you go into a car dealership and make this pact with yourself: “If they give me seven thousand for my trade-in, I’ll buy a new car from them.”

You’re going to ask for a raise in pay at work. “They’ll never give me 15%, so I’ll just ask for 10%.”

This last example is called “Negotiating against yourself,” beating down your perception of your value without any external provocation, a very bad but widespread habit, Goodman says.

“If I can teach you how to improve your negotiations with others by merely 10% over a lifetime, you’ll retire with an extra million dollars,” Goodman promises.

"But job-one is becoming conscious of the deals we’re making with ourselves.
That’s where the initial breakthrough is made,” Goodman smiles.

Goodman will be teaching his “Best Practices In Negotiation” Course at UCLA Extension on July 14 & 21. For information:
https://www.uclaextension.edu/r/Course.aspx?reg=Y3133

His “Innovations In Negotiation” course is scheduled at U.C. Berkeley Extension in downtown San Francisco on August 18:
http://extension.berkeley.edu/catalog/course2028.html

For information regarding speeches, seminars, and consulting, contact Gary Goodman at gary@engotiationschool.com or at (818) 970-GARY (4279).