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BATNA
Negotiation jujitsu is a set of strategies that people committed to principled negotiation can use to respond to others who insist on using positional bargaining. Like many martial arts, negotiation jujitsu is designed to divert and neutralize an opponent’s attack rather than resisting it with equal force. In other words, when the other side starts justifying their position or making personal attacks, negotiation jujitsu calls for simply ignoring them, refusing to commit to any specific position, and starting a new conversation about principles instead. The two most important conversational strategies that negotiators can use in negotiation jujitsu are questions and silence. Whereas making statements invites resistance and criticism, asking open-ended questions forces the other side to explain their interests and motivations. And by responding to unhelpful outbursts and position-based thinking with silence, negotiators force the other side to continue talking. This often leads them to see that their points are not getting across as intended, and then reexamine and reformulate their argument in a more sensible, principle-based way. Frank Turnbull’s negotiation with Mrs. Jones over his rent is a useful example of negotiation jujitsu tactics.
Negotiation Jujitsu Quotes in Getting to Yes
The Getting to Yes quotes below are all either spoken by Negotiation Jujitsu or refer to Negotiation Jujitsu. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 6
Quotes
If the other side has big guns, you do not want to turn a negotiation into a gunfight. The stronger they appear in terms of physical or economic power, the more you benefit by negotiating on the merits. To the extent that they have muscle and you have principle, the larger a role you can establish for principle the better off you are.
Having a good BATNA can help you negotiate on the merits. You can convert such resources as you have into effective negotiating power by developing and improving your BATNA. Apply knowledge, time, money, people, connections, and wits into devising the best solution for you independent of the other side's assent. The more easily and happily you can walk away from a negotiation, the greater your capacity to affect its outcome.
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Chapter 7
Quotes
If pushing back does not work, what does? How can you prevent the cycle of action and reaction? Do not push back. When they assert their positions, do not reject them. When they attack your ideas, don't defend them. When they attack you, don't counterattack. Break the vicious cycle by refusing to react. Instead of pushing back, sidestep their attack and deflect it against the problem. As in the Oriental martial arts of judo and jujitsu, avoid pitting your strength against theirs directly; instead, use your skill to step aside and turn their strength to your ends. Rather than resisting their force, channel it into exploring interests, inventing options for mutual gain, and searching for independent standards.
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I must not be making myself clear. Of course it would be nice if Paul and I got some money. Of course we could try and stay here in the apartment until you got us evicted. But that’s not the point, Mrs. Jones.
More important to us than making a few dollars here or there is the feeling of being treated fairly. No one likes to feel cheated. And if we made this a matter of who’s got the power and refused to move, we'd have to go to court, waste a lot of time and money, and end up with a big headache. You would too. Who wants that?
No, Mrs. Jones, we want to handle this problem fairly on the basis of some independent standard, rather than who can do what to whom.
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Negotiation Jujitsu Term Timeline in Getting to Yes
The timeline below shows where the term Negotiation Jujitsu appears in Getting to Yes. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 7: What If They Won’t Play? (Use Negotiation Jujitsu)
...Second, they can use a strategy for responding to positional bargaining that the authors call negotiation jujitsu . Finally, they can involve a third party in the negotiation through tricks like one-text...
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The authors then explain negotiation jujitsu . When the other side opens by declaring and defending a position, people should simply...
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...things: defending one’s position, attacking the other side’s ideas, and attacking the other side personally. Negotiation jujitsu has a strategy for dealing with each of these.
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First, when the other side defends their position, negotiation jujitsu calls for refusing to immediately accept or reject it, and instead analyzing it like any...
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Secondly, when positional bargainers go into attack mode, negotiation jujitsu calls for encouraging principled criticism, rather than fighting back. A talented negotiator asks the other...
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...makes personal attacks, a smart negotiator lets them finish and listens closely. Then, they use negotiation jujitsu to reinterpret the personal attack in terms of the substantive problem that the two sides...
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There are two more key negotiation jujitsu techniques. First, negotiators should ask questions instead of making direct statements, since questions force the...
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...Jones, has been illegally overcharging him $268 over the legal maximum every month. By using negotiation jujitsu , he gets the belligerent Mrs. Jones to eventually apologize and reimburse him for the...
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