Archive for April, 2011

Saturday I was invited to speak about cultural and social intelligence and its impact on negotiation theory and practice. It was a great virtual classroom experience to have several Tbird alum and current students participating with me in Boston or by live streaming video. I participated with Michael Wheeler, Professor at Harvard Business School, Dan Shapiro, at Harvard Law School, and Joshua Freedman, COO of Six Seconds a global EQ Certification training organization. Our moderator was Ted Johnson, Professor of the Coexistence and Conflict program at Brandeis University.

The field of negotiation is addressing the limits of strategic negotiation frameworks, especially in the multicultural realm. Our discussion explored the emotional and social factors which drive cultural preferences which are fundamental to negotiation planning and results. In addition to our morning panel discussion about social and emotional intelligence, the afternoon session focused on the science around spiritual capital and intelligence and its impact on negotiation.

It was invigorating to share the discussion with the 360 Harvard area students and panelists. There was significant interest in the ways which cultural orientations tools and findings in neuroscience can be integrated with current negotiation strategic models of planning. Social intelligence and capacities require a deeper understanding of not only others’ cultural preferences and values, but more importantly, our own.

A negotiator is ‘smarter’ when there is awareness, knowledge and practice of social skills in order to style switch, for example. Subconscious values and judgments about time (fixed vs. fluid), action (being vs. doing) or communication (direct vs. indirect) tend to derail even the most sophisticated strategic plan.

The conference event confirmed that an integrated model of negotiation is now more defined and practiced by negotiators around the world. For a more detailed exploration at negotiation mastery and performance visit the 48 Law Series here in the World Café and look for Seize the Sky: 9 Secrets of Negotiation Power and the Cross- cultural version of the ExpertNegotiator strategic software, available Fall 2011.

I was invited a few weeks ago to a Global Symposium hosted by Snell & Wilmer, along with Lex Mundi, a global affiliation of 160 law firms in 100 countries, and the Association of Corporate Counsel – Arizona Chapter.  This two-day symposium addressed the needs of in-house counsel involved with international operations. Dr. Cabrera also presented at the conference. His speech detailed the importance of understanding economic trends for thought leaders in emerging markets.

The symposium, which was held at Snell & Wilmer’s Phoenix office, featured topics including global economic trends, the foreclosure crisis, lawyers making a difference on a global basis, and doing business internationally. The event featured leading lawyers from around the world from 16 countries.

I participated in the event on “Unspoken Rules” which featured international lawyer panelists who spoke briefly about some of the invisible cultural preferences which impact legal and business issues in the global arena.  We had a lively, educational and fun panel discussion from lawyers from France, Russia, Japan, Brazil, Ireland, Barbados and Germany.  This was especially interesting for me because of the relevance and practical aspects of the classroom work we do to explore negotiation behavior which is driven by forces under the “iceberg” of our awareness.

These panelists offered insights for those planning to do business in their region of the world about how to style switch and understand:  how fixed time and direct communication is valued in Germany; fluid time is expected in Barbados; why knowing the meaning of one’s family name in Russia and Japan is appreciated; why “being” rather than “doing” is represented in the need to make time for social dinners in Brazil and France; and knowing how to ‘win’ in a pub brawl in Ireland!

This highlights that no matter how strategic negotiators are on the legal and business level, the human dimensions of valued cultural preferences in the end tend to either make or break a good deal.

We are excited to inform you that Prof. Walch from Thunderbird has been invited to speak at The Negotiation & Leadership Conference 2011 by Harvard Negotiators & Institute for Negotiation Leadership & Diplomacy in Boston, MA on April 16th.

Students interested in registering for the conference can sign up here http://negotiationleadership.org/?page_id=17.
Thunderbirds can take advantage of live-streamed interactive show option here http://negotiationleadership.org/?page_id=21.

Please find attached the conference poster.
2011_Harv_Negotiation_Poster

Mediator Kevin Osterman will speak 2:30 p.m. today on “Effective Use of Negotiation and Mediation in Business.” The public seminar, hosted by the Thunderbird Global Negotiations Club, will be in the Yount Distance Learning Center on campus in Glendale, Arizona. For more information, contact Thunderbird Professor Karen Walch, Ph.D., at 602-978-7713 or karen.walch@thunderbird.edu.