2. Chapter Three Basic Qualities for Negotiators

3. Character Traits The Role of the Chief Negotiator The General Structure for Negotiators The Importance of Teamwork Review Exercises

4. Character Traits Shrewdness （机智敏捷） Adaptability （高度的适应能力） Patience （具有耐心） Resourcefulness （足智多谋） Concentration （全神贯注） Endurance （具有耐力） Gregariousness （擅长交际） The Ability to Articulate （表达能力） Sense of Humor ( 具有幽默感）

5. Shrewdness （机智敏捷） The Chief Negotiator (CN), whether staff or consultant, carries the entire responsibility and trust of the company when acting on its behalf. The successful CN must be capable of allowing the other side to see only what deserves the strategy best, and this requires an ethical mixture of honesty and cunning.

6. Forthrightness is a trait to avoid when selecting a CN. People who “wear their hearts on their sleeves” or insist on transparency in all dealings will make sorry negotiators in the global marketplace. While there’s no room for duplicity, the CN must know which cards to lay on the table and when. Because of this, shrewdness ranks as the first for desirable characteristics.

7. Resourcefulness （足智多谋） A good negotiator should be flexible enough and adeptly deals with a great amount of ever-emerging information and uncertainties. In the course of the negotiation, he is able to bring something to an immediate decision and then to solution instead of seeking for the best results possible. It is of actual significance to survive and acquire the ability for development in an environment where a negotiator does not know what will befall him.

8. Endurance （具有耐力） Negotiating is primarily a mental activity, it can be physically demanding. The CN must be available for all sessions and eight-hour days will be rare. Add in travel fatigue, climatic change, jet lag, foreign food, late-night socializing, and work stress and you have the makings of burnout. Many cultures use the tactic of physically and mentally wearing down their counterparts in order to achieve concessions. The CN (including the entire team) must be on guard against fatigue. Physical fitness, endurance, and a reasonably abstemious nature are highly desirable, and bankable, attributers in a CN.

9. Patience （具有耐心） It is necessary for a good negotiator to be patient. This is chiefly because a negotiation will be limited if a negotiator starts it in too straightforward a way, which may yield some short-term results only; the use of some coercion to bring this opponent closer to the objectives of negotiation will certainly lead to more stubbornness on the other side. So to make both negotiator and his opponent nearer their common goals is but a time-consuming job. But this will most probably bring not only satisfactions to both sides but also achieve long-term results.

10. Adaptability （高度的适应能力） Because negotiations are concerned with each side getting the other to change positions, the CN must be highly adaptable. Having an inflexible strategy and limited tactics will almost instantly bring negotiations to an unproductive close. Beyond the preplanned contingencies, the CN must be able to respond quickly and decisively to unforeseen developments. Negotiations seldom go completely according to plan, nor will they always change in preconceived patterns. Being able to “think on your feet” will go a long way toward success at the negotiation table.

11. Concentration （全神贯注） International business can make substantial demands on its practitioners. Time zone changes, language problems, and legal wrangling can all be major distractions from the goals set forth in the strategy. The potential for “losing track” is enormous. Many an executive has returned from an overseas negotiating trip with either a diminished sense of accomplishment or a firm belief that nothing went according to plan.

12. Because of this, the ability to concentrate on those issues at the heart of the negotiation is an asset the CN cannot afford to be without. Counterparts will often attempt to put as many points as possible “on the table” in an effort to cloud the main issue. The CN must be able to maintain the team’s (and his own) focus at all times.

13. Gregariousness （擅长交际） Negotiation is by nature a social process. Many countries have little in the way of commercial contract law, and the success of the deal in such circumstances is based upon trust and friendship. Even when the deal is bound by the contract, the “relationship” will play a huge part in finalizing it. A competent CN is gregarious by disposition and excels in social settings. The ability to hold a good, off- business-topic conversation with a counterpart, even in translation, will only advance the CN’s position

14. The Ability to Articulate （表达能力） People who cannot communicate their ideas or understand those put forth by counterparts are of little use around negotiation table. Good CNs must be practical listeners as well as articulate speakers. Everything about them—from their demeanor, to their clothes, to their body language, to how they handle subordinates—will be scrutinized.

15. A CN must also have a keen sense of what is motivating his counterparts so as to communicate the proper image. To be sure not to make any mistake, the negotiating arena is a stage, albeit small, and CNs play the largest roles.

16. Sense of Humor （具有幽默感） Negotiation can be a very stressful affair, and there will be moments when it hardly seems worth the effort. A CN must be equipped with a highly developed sense of humor in order to weather persistent storms. Some of the negotiating delays, logistical problems, and social settings may seem like exercises in absurdity, and many of the discomforts of travel can be downright demeaning. Facing such problems with a humorous eye and avoiding the syndrome of taking yourself too seriously can make all the difference in keeping negotiations on track.

17. The Role of the Chief Negotiator The Chief Negotiator The Technical Knowledge for a Chief Negotiator Organizational Abilities for a Chief Negotiator

18. The Chief Negotiator The chief negotiator (CN) is responsible for unifying the strategy, tactics and overall style to be used by a particular company. He must exercise a high degree of self-control and keep the team on track under trying circumstances.

19. Once the strategy and tactics have been determined, team discipline demands that all decisions concerning changes must have the CN as the focal point. While strategic consensus is important, delegation of responsibility is of little value. The stakes in international business are very high, and the CN must be willing to accept total responsibility for the outcome. This will be true even when subordinates have made key decisions.

20. The greatest skill that a chief negotiator need is the ability to handle pressure from a variety of directions. Headquarters, clients, team members, family, negotiating counterparts, and government officials will all demand attention.

21. The CN must be a decision maker who can keep everyone satisfied without being distracted from the pre-established priorities. Dealing with these responsibilities within a foreign environment, and possibly in a foreign language, is not a job for the faint of heart. Special problems often arise between a CN who has been brought in on a consultancy basis and personnel who have been members made of the negotiating team primarily for their technical skills. These conflicts must be worked out far in advance of negotiations.

22. The Technical Knowledge for a Chief Negotiator To be a chief negotiator, he must know that government regulations and corporate specifications make technical requirements a key part of negotiations. In addition ， he must possess a wide variety of technical, social, communication, and ethical skills.

23. Candidates for CN should be technically astute with regard to both the company’s products and modern day information technology. Most international businessmen now travel with laptop computers in order to compactly carry along the vast amount of data necessary for quick decision-making.

24. Meanwhile this can greatly reduce the number of personnel required to make presentations and/or assist in technical decisions. The CN must not be a casual or neophyte user of this technology as this may be a judgment at meetings concerning his ability to handle the newest hardware and software. In some way, the laptop has become as useful, and potentially embarrassing (when it does not work), as the slide projector of the past.

25. Organizational Abilities for a Chief Negotiator When doing business overseas, the chief negotiator(CN) represents the company in image and practice. As a result, the CN must be highly organized in order to effectively handle the vast number of problems that will inevitably arise. The CN must be able to select, motivate, and control a team operating under high-stress conditions. He also must be able to arrange and rearrange schedules, as well as oversee staff in difficult circumstances. Every and any logistical detail can make the difference between success and failure.

26. Administrative support teams will be unavailable to all but the largest corporations, for this reason, the negotiating team (or perhaps the CN alone) will be left to its own resources. Problems must be foreseen far in advance, and team members assigned to each task. There’s little room for error. Every negotiating session should be preceded by a strategy session and followed by a recap. The professional CN leaves no detail unexamined.

27. The General Structure for Negotiators Negotiating Group Organizational Structure for Negotiators

28. Negotiating Group A negotiating is usually done with the involvement of a group of negotiators called here team work with the following three strong points: It will help reduce the chance of laying bare its own weaknesses in negotiation. It will strengthen itself as a whole. It will mean an active force against its opponent.

29. Organizational Structure for Negotiators As it required by technical knowledge in negotiations, the following contingent of personnel is included: Technical personnel familiar with production, performance of products and technical development like a technician, (chief) engineer; Business personnel familiar with trade practices, terms and prices like a factory director or manager; Law personnel versed in economic legal knowledge like a lawyer or law consultant;

30.  Accountant who is familiar with costs, ways of payment and finance.  Interpreter who is familiar with the foreign language needed as well as with the related knowledge and who is good at cooperating with the rest personnel;  Leading personnel commissioned by an enterprise or selected from the above- mentioned;  Personnel to take minutes (either appointed or selected from the above).

31. The Importance of Teamwork Scope of the Team A Balance of Skills and Strength Team Solidarity

32. Scope of the Team How big should your negotiation team be? There are several reasons to keep your negotiation team (NT) as small as possible. There first few deals with the expense and difficulties that arise when your NT must operate overseas. Flight, ground transport, meals, hotels, communication, conference centers, taxes, and cargo can all make a trip for even a small team greatly expensive.

33. To arrange for passports, visas, inoculations, and potential Medicare for a large team can easily become unmanageable. Problems and additional expenses may also arise when attempting to deal with various family and business schedules. Finally, for NTs operating overseas, keeping track of large groups in foreign country is nightmarish at best— ask any tour guide.

34. The rest of the reasons for keeping the NT compactly apply to both domestic and overseas assignments. Primarily, communication is a source of strength within any organization and never more so than within the NT. Premeetings recaps and midmeetings breaks demand that communications be both precise and concise, as major decisions are made in a matter of seconds. The CN must be able to seek the input of the team quickly, and large groups are cumbersome.

35.  Secondly, as mentioned earlier, presenting a unified front is key. The CN must be able to redirect tactics as counterparts bring new issues to the table. Agreement on tactics becomes more difficult in direct proportion to group size, even when there’s agreement on strategy. Keeping the NT small enables the CN to make timely adjustments to the negotiating plan and to disseminate that information quickly. Additionally, small teams are more easily able to withstand the “edges” that counterparts may attempt to drive between members of large teams.

36.  Thirdly, the members of the NT have other job duties unrelated to the negotiations. The fewer you pull away from their regular assignments the better. There is no sense disrupting the company’s core business. As exciting as the international arena is, keep in mind that someone must oversee the old business while others look for new opportunities.

37. A Balance of Skills and Strength It is unlikely that any single team member will have all of the talents necessary to achieve the company’s strategy. The CN must choose a cross-section of technical skills and personal attributes that will create a compact and efficient team. One team member’s weakness must be counterbalanced by another’s strength. Technical expertise must be accompanied by the ability to communicate and apply that expertise. Putting a team together is similar to assembling a jigsaw puzzle: there is no success unless all of the pieces fit.

38. A common practice among experienced travelers when packing for trips is to never put anything in the suitcase that has “only one use”; the same applies to choosing NT members. A specialist candidate is eschewed in favor of the generalist unless the technical expertise is absolutely vital to the effort. If the CN must include these “one trick ponies,” every attempt should be made to make them a part of the wider strategy and tactics discussions. If that is unsuccessful, these specialist members should be educated to advise in private during negotiations and to avoid direct involvement.

39. Team Solidarity Dissention within a team will be made use of by counterparts to the fullest extent, thus, whenever possible, the CN should have full control over the selection of negotiating team members. This is key, because the team must think as a unit at all times and have total respect for, confidence in, and loyalty to the CN. There can be no “turf wars” or disputes over the CN’s authority or assignments. This may seem extreme to believers in less hierarchical management structures. However, high stakes, stresses, and the adversarial nature of international negotiations cannot tolerate anything less than a unified effort if success is to be attained.

40. While team members will have varying levels of authority and responsibility, all directions must come from the CN. Any actions that depart from the preordained strategic, tactical, or contingency plans must be discussed with and condoned by the CN. The only defense against Divide and Conquer, a common negotiating technique, is seamless unity. Lastly, because of need for centralized decision-making, it is wise to appoint a second in command (in case the CN should be ill or meet with something unexpected).

41. Review Exercises I. Questions: 1. What are the basic qualities for a negotiator? 2. What are character traits? 3. What is the role of the chief negotiator? 4. Name some organizational abilities for a chief negotiator. 5. Say a few words about the importance of teamwork. 6. What is the general structure for negotiators? II. Major Concepts, Principles, Terms: 1. Shrewdness 2. resourcefulness 3. endurance 4. patience 5. adaptability 6. concentration 7. gregariousness 8. the Ability to Articulate 9. sense of Humor 10. the Chief Negotiator