by Reem Alsalem, Palestine
In the latter half of last week, we were immersed into a mini crash course on negotiating successfully in an international context by professor Wilbur Perlot of the Clingendael Institute in the Netherlands. It did not take long for us to notice that we were in the hands of an experienced trainer on negotiations. While it certainly was built around a certain logic that made itself felt throughout the sessions, the methodology employed was at the same time sufficiently flexible to accommodate our multiple questions and interests.
There were many interesting aspects to the two and a half days Dr. Perlot was with us. Let me start with the role play of a negotiation between the World Bank and Uganda over a loan of 300 million dollars. Although I had entered reluctantly into the exercise (having started to feel the symptoms of an “overdose on simulations” or as some of us like to call it “being over-simulated”) I found this particular one – surprisingly useful. I say surprisingly, because given that I do have to negotiate on a daily basis in my day job, I did not really expect to find anything new since this was sort of the “bread and butter” of my every day life. Nevertheless, having had to put myself in the shoes of Government for a change (as I was part of the team of Uganda that was confronted by a very formal, firm and demanding World Bank team) was a somber reminder of the arrogance with which we, international organizations, can sometimes convey, intentionally or unintentionally. I also very much liked the emphasis on the role that cultural attitudes, norms and perceptions in negotiations, especially in todays world, with the rise of many non western players on the international economic and political scenes.
But perhaps the most significant element that Dr. Perlot intended (I think) to hammer into our brain is the importance of taking a deep hard look at ourselves as negotiators. We need to be aware of our strengths and weaknesses (and thankfully there are tools that can help you to do this) but more importantly realize that strengths and weaknesses are not set in stone and can in fact be moving targets depending on the context. A negotiation trait that works well for me in a one particular context could work against me in another. You have got to know all the cards you have access to and play them right.