đď¸ Write Your Opponentâs Victory Speech
Hello! Adam Thornhill here. âThe Podcast Guyâ saving you 10 hours a week.
Enjoy the 142nd Podup, with special thanks to RhinoRating.
Today, weâll dive into the best insights and ideas from The Tim Ferriss Show.
Avoid winning too much when you negotiate. Yes, you read that right. Getting everything you want can be a bad thing. Why? Because youâre leaving the other party with nothing to celebrate.Â
Instead of preparing for battle, negotiation expert William Ury urges that you prepare for peace. Understand the aspirations and challenges of the other party and work backwards from their ideal outcome.
How to manage difficult conflictÂ
Hereâs a thought experiment. Imagine if your boss says yes to you. Now they have to justify this to someone else such as their board of directors or their peers.
Think about the hardest questions theyâre going to get and the criticisms theyâre going to receive. Then think about the best answers they can give.
Your job as a negotiator is to help them deliver that victory speech. Work backwards, think about what victory would look like, then work forwards.
William Ury
Case study: Avoiding WW3
In 2017, Kim Jong Un of North Korea was testing ballistic nuclear missiles aimed at the United States. Some experts warned of a 50% chance of war.
I sat down and said âLetâs write the victory speech for Trump and Kim Jong Un where they both decide not to go to war.â
For Trump, he was an open book. He would want to say âThis was the best deal ever. Obama couldnât do this. Clinton couldnât do this. But I could. I made the biggest deal ever to spare the world from nuclear war.â
But Kim Jong Un was a black box. Nothing was known about him. The only person I could find that knew anything about him was a retired American basketball player by the name of Dennis Rodman.
I tracked down Dennis to find out what drove the person I was trying to influence, Kim Jong Un.
He told me that Kim doesnât want war. He said âOne day Kim told me what his dream was: to walk down 5th Avenue, go to Madison Square Garden, and watch the New York Knicks play the Chicago Bulls.â
I was like âBingo!â This nugget gave me an insight into the dreams of the other side.
A year later, the world was shocked when Trump sat down with Kim Jong Un in Singapore. Kimâs victory speech was simply the fact that Trump had met with him. Kim was a hero to his people.
William Ury
Why it matters
William Uryâs method forces us to step into the other personâs shoes, anticipate their needs, and address their concerns head on, even before theyâre voiced.Â
You can apply the victory speech framework to any facet of business: negotiating with customers and suppliers, soliciting internal alignment, and finalizing budget requests.
Next steps
Identify the conflict. Understand the issue at hand, the parties involved, and the root cause of the issue.
Draft the victory speeches. Write out what a victory speech could look like for both sides. Consider the other partyâs goals, fears, and pressures.
Analyze and plan. Use the victory speeches to identify concessions and demands that are most important to the other side.
Engage in dialogue. Aim for a resolution that allows both sides to deliver their victory speeches.
Reflect and adjust. Post-negotiation, reflect on the outcome. Was it successful? How could you improve your negotiation style in the future?
Your thoughts?
More from Podup
Navigate the art of deal-making. Discover Ankur Nagpalâs journey to negotiating a $250 million sale of his company.
Thanks to RhinoRating for making this post possibleâŚ
Struggling to stand out online? RhinoRating is your guide to the top!
Turn your happy customers into a stampede of 5-star reviews.
With over 9,000 glowing reviews generated, RhinoRating is the secret weapon you didnât know you needed.
And the best part? Get started with a 30 day money back guarantee.
Zero risk, all reward. Ready to charge ahead of the competition?
P.S. Youâll get a FREE Google My Business audit if you submit your interest today đ
86% of readers have decision-making authority or influence. Reach C-Suite Execs, Directors/VPs, Senior Professionals, and Business Owners/Founders with Podup.
Quotes were pulled at different points of the episode. Sentences were left out to make the narrative more concise. Podup is not associated or affiliated with any podcast.