“It’s very important to understand what motivates the person across the table from you,” says Ms. Gamble of the skills she learned while working for the border agency. – Shauna Gamble, The Globe And Mail (February 20th, 2024)
In an article rich with insights such as the importance of having mentors, taking risks, and broadening your work experience beyond the procurement department, the common thread of success is the ability to understand what motivates the people with whom you work and do business.
In short, negotiating is (or should) not be based on an adversarial, game theory approach in which there is a winner and a loser. “Getting To We,” as Kate Vitasek calls it, is more an act of insight and understanding than an exercise in Sun Tzu tactics. By the way, while I am a fan of the ancient general, strategist, and philosopher’s advice, such as; If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the results of a hundred battles, I substitute the words “enemy and battle” with “partner and dialogue.”
The Gamble Approach
Louis Pasteur said, “Chance favors only the prepared mind.” So, what does having a prepared mind mean?
For Gamble, it meant being trained “in ten different jobs to help her develop her abilities.” You may think, “ten different jobs!” I barely have enough hours in the day to do my present job, never mind taking on the responsibilities of nine other jobs!
However, when a recent Procurement Leaders article titled “CPO Crunch: Just add R&D” talked about Amanda Davies, Chief Procurement & Sustainability Officer at Mars Wrigley, announcing that she was “adding R&D to her remit to become Chief R&D, Procurement & Sustainability Officer,” you know that the procurement universe of responsibilities is expanding rapidly.
Even in my career, I can remember, in the early 1980s, a top sales manager telling his sales team that he was changing positions to take over management of the service department. After the meeting, I asked him why, if you are the top sales leader in the company, you would take a management position in an area of the business with which you had limited experience.
I will always remember his answer. He said that if I wanted to move up in the organization, I needed to “understand how everything and everyone works.”
Back To Negotiation
“I try to watch people – and then find the language that clicks with them to come to a place that is mutually win-win,” she says. It’s about being prepared for the “many different ways” a conversation could go, she adds. – Shauna Gamble, Chief Procurement Officer (CPO), Bombardier
The good news is that you don’t have to apply for that open position in the customer service or accounting department to understand better what motivates others in their daily tasks. Like Shauna Gamble, you watch, learn, and seek to know why and what people want to accomplish and what is important to them. From that starting point, you can align your interests and goals with theirs.
When you get to this point of understanding is when true negotiation begins, e.g., getting to a win-win outcome.
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Procurement Insights
The best negotiators know how to “Gamble”
Posted on February 26, 2024
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“It’s very important to understand what motivates the person across the table from you,” says Ms. Gamble of the skills she learned while working for the border agency. – Shauna Gamble, The Globe And Mail (February 20th, 2024)
In an article rich with insights such as the importance of having mentors, taking risks, and broadening your work experience beyond the procurement department, the common thread of success is the ability to understand what motivates the people with whom you work and do business.
In short, negotiating is (or should) not be based on an adversarial, game theory approach in which there is a winner and a loser. “Getting To We,” as Kate Vitasek calls it, is more an act of insight and understanding than an exercise in Sun Tzu tactics. By the way, while I am a fan of the ancient general, strategist, and philosopher’s advice, such as; If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the results of a hundred battles, I substitute the words “enemy and battle” with “partner and dialogue.”
The Gamble Approach
Louis Pasteur said, “Chance favors only the prepared mind.” So, what does having a prepared mind mean?
For Gamble, it meant being trained “in ten different jobs to help her develop her abilities.” You may think, “ten different jobs!” I barely have enough hours in the day to do my present job, never mind taking on the responsibilities of nine other jobs!
However, when a recent Procurement Leaders article titled “CPO Crunch: Just add R&D” talked about Amanda Davies, Chief Procurement & Sustainability Officer at Mars Wrigley, announcing that she was “adding R&D to her remit to become Chief R&D, Procurement & Sustainability Officer,” you know that the procurement universe of responsibilities is expanding rapidly.
Even in my career, I can remember, in the early 1980s, a top sales manager telling his sales team that he was changing positions to take over management of the service department. After the meeting, I asked him why, if you are the top sales leader in the company, you would take a management position in an area of the business with which you had limited experience.
I will always remember his answer. He said that if I wanted to move up in the organization, I needed to “understand how everything and everyone works.”
Back To Negotiation
“I try to watch people – and then find the language that clicks with them to come to a place that is mutually win-win,” she says. It’s about being prepared for the “many different ways” a conversation could go, she adds. – Shauna Gamble, Chief Procurement Officer (CPO), Bombardier
The good news is that you don’t have to apply for that open position in the customer service or accounting department to understand better what motivates others in their daily tasks. Like Shauna Gamble, you watch, learn, and seek to know why and what people want to accomplish and what is important to them. From that starting point, you can align your interests and goals with theirs.
When you get to this point of understanding is when true negotiation begins, e.g., getting to a win-win outcome.
30
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