What do you think went wrong with this contract in 1978?
Why could a similar impasse occur in 2024?
As you consider your answers to the above questions, I have my own theories on where contract disputes originate – at the negotiating table.
Here is an excerpt from an article I wrote in 2010 about the following comment Tim Cummins made many years ago, suggesting that “Around the negotiating table, all stakeholders lie about what they can do, by when they can do it, and for how much money it can be done.”
“‘You don’t get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate’ is the title of a blog by Jon Hansen, in which he challenges the ‘adversarial state of mind … that for so many years has hindered the buyer and supplier relationship …. negatively impacting an organization’s ability to sustain positive results”.
Jon castigates much of the negotiation training delivered by Karrass and others who encourage the ‘win-lose’ mentality. I agree with his comments. There are still many who see the negotiation itself, rather than the outcome it inspires, as the objective. This transactional, commodity-based thinking certainly does not fit well with many of the relationships required by business today.
Within the article, Jon also addresses the question of ‘lying’ and the sense among many that this is not only acceptable, but normal. He suggests such attitudes destroy trust and maintain the cynicism associated with many negotiators, especially those in Procurement.
While broadly agreeing with the point that unprincipled negotiation will lead to disappointing results, I regret that I do not entirely share Jon’s perspectives on the question of lying. Sadly, this is not so much to do with the negotiators in sales or procurement – it comes from the top.“
As a follow-up regarding the impact of disputes, check out Tim’s 2015 article Not Good: Average of 9 Percent of Contracts Result in Dispute.
So, what do you think? Are contract disputes the result of a broken or poor negotiation process?
Procurement Insights
Why did this big NYC contract go off the rails?
Posted on March 23, 2024
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The March 9th, 1978 headline reads, “Concern Ends Work On Parking Meters In Dispute Over Pay.“
As you consider your answers to the above questions, I have my own theories on where contract disputes originate – at the negotiating table.
Here is an excerpt from an article I wrote in 2010 about the following comment Tim Cummins made many years ago, suggesting that “Around the negotiating table, all stakeholders lie about what they can do, by when they can do it, and for how much money it can be done.”
“‘You don’t get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate’ is the title of a blog by Jon Hansen, in which he challenges the ‘adversarial state of mind … that for so many years has hindered the buyer and supplier relationship …. negatively impacting an organization’s ability to sustain positive results”.
Jon castigates much of the negotiation training delivered by Karrass and others who encourage the ‘win-lose’ mentality. I agree with his comments. There are still many who see the negotiation itself, rather than the outcome it inspires, as the objective. This transactional, commodity-based thinking certainly does not fit well with many of the relationships required by business today.
Within the article, Jon also addresses the question of ‘lying’ and the sense among many that this is not only acceptable, but normal. He suggests such attitudes destroy trust and maintain the cynicism associated with many negotiators, especially those in Procurement.
While broadly agreeing with the point that unprincipled negotiation will lead to disappointing results, I regret that I do not entirely share Jon’s perspectives on the question of lying. Sadly, this is not so much to do with the negotiators in sales or procurement – it comes from the top.“
As a follow-up regarding the impact of disputes, check out Tim’s 2015 article Not Good: Average of 9 Percent of Contracts Result in Dispute.
So, what do you think? Are contract disputes the result of a broken or poor negotiation process?
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