Legal and Commercial Negotiations – Learnings, and from football

I have been doing legal and commercial negotiations slightly longer than football or soccer. In picking up Gaelic football (and Camogie) and Aussie rules football I’m learning more about how to translate that into other aspects of life including my work in legal and commercial negotiations. I’ve had the opportunity to learn from some of the best and now to coach my team in negotiations. In covering my team lead in this period (he’s not active on LinkedIn, so all the better to write this as a tribute to him), I also gained more insights coaching my team further. He often uses football terminology with me to discuss approach and we often play off each other in negotiations. I wanted to share it on with you.

?

(1)??? Get together a clear strategy

?

In football you’ll often have a strategy, be it as attacker, defender, midfielder depending on your position on the field. The same applies for legal and commercial negotiations. Be clear in your strategy. Prepare, research, talk to stakeholders, assess risk, write thorough negotiation briefs, run red-teaming sessions. If you are striking, have information on gaps as well as opportunities you can leverage on with the other party. If you are defending, have concise information and room for rebuttals. Remember if the ball gets past you in defence but doesn’t make it to a goal you still have a chance of keeping it out. Once you’re in the negotiations, within a specific time you’ll get a sense of which direction this negotiation is headed. Much like a game of football when you can change track, in negotiations you can employ your alternative approach.

?

(2)??? Often is it good to have a swiper

?

If you have resources to go into negotiations together, have a Swiper. In Australian football there is an unofficial role of a swiper, someone who makes sure that the other team does not run face first into your own team’s goal. In negotiations it is good to have swiper who can back you up to ensure the other party does not try to bulldoze you into your own goal post. For example, you specify to the other party that they have only provided partial performance. The other party may try to push back saying that their records and performance reviews do not align on the same. Your swiper comes in to reinforce, with further evidence. Much like how everyone on the filed has a specific role, set specific roles with your swiper.

?

(3)??? A step back before going forward

?

One of the things that struck with me very early when learning to play Gaelic football is that when the person who is tagging you is unrelenting and you get the ball, you can take a step back before going forward. Often in negotiations settings and prior during preparation, it is often good to take a step back and assess what the other party is saying or is expected to say, the extra information you’ve gathered, and your strategy. That said, do not give the other party too much time to distract you with a line of discussion that is going to stray you away too much from your targeted outcome. Time permitting, you can go back to the strategy room (if not drawing board) to recoup before stepping forward.

?

(4)??? Let go of what is beyond your area of control

?

Negotiations, as are often football playing fields, are highly charged situations. You have the organizations asks on your shoulders. If prepared well, a negotiation should go according to your plan. But like a game, there is a human on the other side of the negotiation. There is bound to be reactions and reflexes beyond your preparation or control. Let go of what you cannot control, and focus on what you can. For areas outside your control, for instance commercial decisions that require management buy-in on either side, a trade-off in deliverables, an alternate dispute resolution process, set steps in place and ensure the necessary stakeholders take the next steps.

One of the hardest things perhaps about negotiations is to have the difficult, sometimes slightly adversarial conversations with the other party with whom you still have a business relationship. In Court rooms, as in boardrooms, the intent now is to move away from an adversarial approach to a mitigation, and resolution approach. However, some difficult conversations and areas, including OB markers, ensue. One of the things I learnt in the recent round of management training is that if you can handle an uncomfortable situation, you can handle anything. Take the opportunity of discomfort and disagreement for effective conflict management, and to move the relationship forward in a positive momentum.

?

(5)??? Set achievable targets

?

In Gaelic and Aussie rule football there are points for goals that go into the goal and above the bar. Similarly set negotiation targets that are achievable, including a clearly measured ceiling, floor and mid-ceiling. Do your research on what is the biting point, what your stakeholders including business would want the outcome to be, and how you are going to move up and down the scale. You can aim the kick to a ball (or the hurl to a sliotar in Camogie and Hurling) – much like an angle for tennis, or golf, or paddling to go in a certain direction, but it may still land in a spot that is slightly off. Similarly for negotiations the outcome may land slightly off target. Prepare for contingency. Like how you would kick or hit off a certain angle to take into account your own angles or weather conditions, you can plan for a certain direction so that the outcome lands close to your target as possible.

And with that G.O.A.L.S. (See what I did there with the starting alphabet of each point?) Negotiations can really be a fun playing field, even if often uneven playing field like the bumpy turfs and each is a learning opportunity, and you will soon find yourself using it in other areas of life. We used to play a few sports, including football as a family growing up. Negotiation skills were something I picked up later in business and law schools, coming from a strict household and learning to see life in black and white, and had to be honed over time with work and experiences. Remember in a game of football you have the ball moving across the field as commonality. In Legal and Commercial negotiations you have the legal basis and commercial ask as commonality, to work often in your advantage.

And if you don’t play sports fear not. Ironically while we use footie strategy to discuss how to work with each other, it's a joke we share that I was hired on the basis of not so much my legal skills, but a dance video for a charity showcase that is out somewhere. It's all foot and handwork, and brainwork. Shall I do another on Dance comparison to Legal and Commercial negotiations? We’ll save that (mind) workout for another day.

Enjoyed this article? Please share your comments or questions. I promise I only get on to LinkedIn once in a blue moon, but I will get back to you. It is also my responsibility to add a disclaimer that the above is my views only and do not relate to any organization or project or activity that I was, am, or will be affiliated with in the foreseeable future. Thank you.