Effective Negotiation Strategies for Museum Technology Professionals

Negotiation is critical skill for any museum technology professional. Whether lobbying for funds to upgrade for your CMS, bargaining with a vendor for the best price on color management software, or keeping internal stakeholders’ expectations about the new website in check, there are numerous opportunities to create value and advance your interests through strategic negotiations.
Negotiation presents one of the best opportunities to maximize the impact of your limited resources. Even if you’re limited in staff, funding, or infrastructure (or all three), as a smart negotiator, you can find creative ways to leverage your strengths and build powerful relationships that produce results.
Frequently, museum technologists find themselves positioned as intermediaries, negotiating on behalf of their nonprofit organization with for-profit vendors and contractors. And the the unique culture, personalities, interests, and mission of museums can provide an extra layer of complexity that makes these negotiations challenging.
This workshop will introduce museum professionals to fundamental negotiation concepts and tools for structuring deals that maximize value for both parties (win-win negotiation). Through interactive activities, mock negotiations, and peer feedback, participants in this workshop will learn effective strategies for negotiating with vendors, contractors, and even their colleagues.
Participants will walk away from the workshop with:
– a broad, understanding of central concepts in negotiation as they apply in a museum technology context
– a systematic framework for preparing for any type of negotiation
– problem-solving techniques and practical skills for each step of the negotiation process
– tools for mitigating aggressive negotiators and methods for resolving seemingly intractable negotiations.

Bibliography:
Books
Babcock, Linda, and Sara Laschever. Women Don't Ask: Negotiation and the Gender Divide. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 2003.

Brett, Jeanne M. Negotiating Globally: How to Negotiate Deals, Resolve Disputes, and Make Decisions across Cultural Boundaries. San Francisco, CA: Wiley, 2007.

Fisher, Roger, William Ury, and Bruce Patton. Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement without Giving in. New York, NY: Penguin, 1991. Print.

Mnookin, Robert H., Scott R. Peppet, and Andrew S. Tulumello. Beyond Winning: Negotiating to Create Value in Deals and Disputes. Cambridge, MA: Belknap of Harvard UP, 2000.

Shell, G. Richard. Bargaining for Advantage: Negotiation Strategies for Reasonable People. New York: Viking, 1999.

Ury, William. Getting past No: Negotiating with Difficult People. New York: Bantam, 1991. Print.

Articles

Weiss, Jeff; Donigian, Aram; Hughes, Jonathan. Extreme Negotiations. Harvard Business Review 2010
https://hbr.org/2010/11/extreme-negotiations

Wheeler, Michael. Get in the Right State of Mind for Any Negotiation, Harvard Business Review, May 05, 2015
https://hbr.org/2015/05/get-in-the-right-state-of-mind-for-any-negotiation

Patel, Neil. The Art And Science Of A Successful Negotiation. Forbes, June 22, 2015
http://www.forbes.com/sites/neilpatel/2015/06/22/the-art-and-science-of-a-successful-negotiation/

Richard Harroch, 15 Tactics For Successful Business Negotiations, Forbes, September 16, 2016
http://www.forbes.com/sites/allbusiness/2016/09/16/15-tactics-for-successful-business-negotiations/

Camp, Jim. Business Schools Teach Negotiating Tactics That Don't Work, Bloomberg. August 4, 2014
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-08-04/five-negotiating-skills-that-should-be-taught-in-business-schools