This morning I went to a code review. This afternoon I'm listening to Leigh Thompson's presentation about Buissness Negotiation (another Linda Stone sponcered talk). Here are my notes:

Stuff that doesn't help
One slide has a list of Faulty Mental Models that causes problems in communication.

• Good for me is Bad for you and ViceVersa
• They are extreme, we are reasonable. (hint: you have more in common then you think)
• Facts support us. (we view ourselves more honest then others)
• Overconfidence (A netural party will agree with us)
• Bully coercion will break down the other person.
• Hard vrs Soft dichotomy

These seem like a neat reference guide to understanding when a negotiation is to less then optimal results.

Make the Pie Bigger
She also said that negotiation should try to happen along the optimal line (expand the pie) which is the win-win negotiation. Ask questions. Reveal information about preferences for repocitocy in thier preferences. Package issues, avoid working out each issue one at a time. Make multiple offers at the same value for you to get a feel for what is important to the other person. Try for a settlement after the settlement (you can always fall back on the previous one). Use differences (put money behind thier words, boat/plane example)

Maximizing your side
Next, understand what what is thier alternative without an agreement. This is the source of negotiating power. Knowing thiers helps, but doesn't get as much as you might think because of emotion. First Offer is an advantage (everything else being equal). Reanchor when things are unreasonable. No unilateral consessions,"I've gone this far, what can you do?". Watch the magnitude of concessions cause at the end if there is a mismatch (lets split the difference, and you get screwed).

Other Stuff
There is a difference between disputes and negotiations, in disputes the alternative is still tied to person you are dealing with (court for example). Rights and Power based negotiation is not useful. Spotlight/attention is bad. Do you have everyone needed to negotiate? People are risk adverse when they feel they have something to gain, and risk seeking when they see the glass half empty. Gloating makes people precieve that there is a power difference (with backlash effects)
1:27:57 PM    comments ==

This morning I'm listening to a presentation about DRM efforts at Microsoft.
9:39:00 AM    comments ==

Pam bought a game called Lunch Money this week. It's about girls beating each other up. You play attacks, but run the risk of a block, grab and counter attack, The game is quite often tit for tat; you don't want to attack because of the risk you yourself are taking.
12:40:53 AM    comments ==