Solicit new perspectives. HMO executive Donna Hitchcock encountered resistance to implementing an insurance-company joint venture. These are PDF files. You will need Acrobat Reader, a free program from Adobe, in order to read it. This article takes a closer look at the role of gender in power inequities that lie behind stalled or blocked negotiations.
Style also influences who gets heard, who gets credit, and what gets done.
As the authors point out, these impasses can cause negotiation participants to refuse to compromise. Contingent contracts offer numerous benefits, including canceling out negotiators' biases, leveling the playing field, and dispersing risk among parties. As the authors explain, women are particularly vulnerable to manipulation during bargaining sessions, owing to unspoken attitudes, hidden assumptions, and conflicting agendas that drive the bargaining process. Based on interviews with hundreds of businesswomen, the book provides a well-developed game plan for avoiding common stumbling blocks in negotiations. Receive Free E-Mail Updates on what's new from HBR OnPoint.