Positions v. Needs & Interests

Dear Sisters and Friends,

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The thing about negotiation is that the concepts are often super simple, but with profound implications for human relationships, and for peace on the planet. One of those concepts is the ability to distinguish a negotiation ‘position’ from an underlying ‘need or interest’ which goes to the core of a collaborative mindset and strategy.

Have you ever heard the classic negotiation story about an orange? It provides a simple, concise way of understanding the meaning of ‘win-win’ as well as the difference between a position and needs/interests. It’s been taught by many of us in the field, tens of thousands of times, but as recently as a presentation I did to 70,000 people around the world, it was new to the majority and resonated in important ways.