First Principles: Negotiation

I have to admit that I'm a bit of a junkie for lists; I am somewhat of a lister myself. Some time ago, I realised that some politicians make clearly defined lists of interesting points which they claim to use. Some of these lists are particularly useful to think about.

Here is a list from New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, taken from his book, Between Worlds: The Making of an American Life (pages 363-365), on negotiation:

Richardson's Rules
• Share the credit. Politics and diplomacy are team sports. Acknowledge it.
• Be discreet and don't volunteer too much information.
• Your style can be informal, but you must show proper respect.
• Remember who your friends were when things weren't going so well.
• Aim big. Always try to achieve more than you have to.
• When you're about to make a major change, cover your bases.
• It helps to be in good shape. You never know when you're going to be called to the negotiating table.
• Deliver a strong message with dignity and without insults.
• Never lie when negotiating, because lies catch up with you. Be direct.
• Use the media if you need to, but keep your negotiations private.
• Have others deliver bad news; it keeps you viable as a future negotiator.
• In most meetings, the law of diminishing returns kicks in after five minutes.

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Very useful rules indeed. I have also begun to look at Senator Barack Obama's speeches. He is good at identifying key points in very large discussion frameworks.