Negotiating Tips From Lizzie And The Jackrabbit

By Gay Gaddis, published by Forbes, April 2015

Not long before sunset I looked down at the horse pasture just below our Double Heart Ranch house. Our Border Collie, Lizzie, had a jackrabbit stopped dead in his tracks. Neither moved for what seemed like ages. The rabbit didn't know that Lizzie was on the other side of a fence unable to get him, and Lizzie didn’t seem to realize her limitations either. So there they remained, motionless in the still, hot August afternoon, locked in a stand off that was really of no use to either one of them.

Just when I thought I couldn't watch any longer, one of our Quarter horses, Jackson, walked right in between Lizzie and the jackrabbit. Suddenly the tense standoff ended, and the rabbit bolted, moving faster than white lightning. 

The role that Jackson played in this tense negotiation, and the reason he was able to push through the loggerhead, was as an interrupter. Jackson wandered onto the scene, and changed the view of the situation. He distracted Lizzie sufficiently providing the jackrabbit with a window of safety within which to consider his options and make a choice. As a result, the rabbit won the argument.

The rabbit took Jackson’s interruption as an opportunity to go back to his home, away from the dangerous forces of a dog's grip. Lizzie’s goal was to catch the rabbit. It’s pretty clear who came away the winner. In this situation, fate intervened and handed the win to the rabbit. In business, however, you can invite an interrupter who changes the scene at just the right time to allow you to achieve your goal.

I find that in business negotiations, each party takes an extreme position, and will gradually start to move through a series of concessions until an agreement can be made that is mutually beneficial. But, when neither side will budge, you wind up in a situation a lot like the one between Lizzie and the jackrabbit.

During these times, something or someone has to change the game. Whether it's an arbitrary shift in the economy, or a new innovative idea that redefines the situation, you need to harness your arsenal of interrupter skills to break through the stalemate. 

Join me for live leadership webinars in September and October 2020 entitled "Eating Risk for Breakfast," designed to educate and inspire aspiring leaders and managers of teams. Through these hour-long lunchtime discussions, I will share some of the skills I used for over 30 years in building and leading the largest female owned advertising agency in the country. I hope you'll join me! — Gay Gaddis

The next time you get stuck in a negotiation that appears like it will never end, try these 3 tactics.

1. Make sure that you are not so far-fetched with your own position. Perhaps take the time to reevaluate your long-term motives and adjust.

2. Bring in an interrupter (consultant, attorney, mediator) to help change the game and add new innovative ways to look at the issues.

3. Stick to your guns. Sometimes, if you really believe you are on the right side, and caving in would be a longterm disaster for your business, then hold fast, there might actually be a protective fence between you and your adversary. At some point, the economy will change, the situation will turn around, or the other side will just throw in the towel.