Comment by nathannecro | Hacker News Reader

Comment by nathannecro | Hacker News Reader

Fantastic Planet Money episode. However, it is about 17 minutes long which a whole bunch of political stuff which may be viewed as fluff. Approxcript of the negotiation techniques below:

1. "Nibbles": Reach a general agreement (agree on a basic premise). Instead of instantly accepting the deal, push for one small concession at a time.

2. Before entering into a discussion, think about a 'BATNA' = Best Alternative To Negotiated Agreement. Are there other options? Is there a minimum you are willing to agree with?

3. "Expanding the pie": While certain points in contention may be very inflexible (salary, job position), "expand the pie" and seek out other areas which may be more flexible (vacation days, compensation). This also serves to clarify the central hinge of the negotiations.

4. Disarming Empathy. Essentially, the act of being empathetic (in a sort of self-deprecating way perhaps?) so that the other side bargains against themselves while you do not budge from your initial offer.

I was looking for this kind of summary, thanks for posting it, but after reading it I fail to see how "Nibbles" and "Expanding the pie" are not basically the same thing.

One is a "what" the other is a "how".

Nibbles = get the other party to feel like this is a done deal, then push them for further small concessions. (nibbles are one-way) example: "gee, that job offer sounds great!! but there is one thing- just caught that I have to pay for parking. Can you do anything there to make up for that?" Expanding the pie = find a compromise that benefits both parties: "I understand you're extremely short on office space until the new office space is built out, and your office will be a painfully long commute for me until my lease runs out and I can move closer to the office. How about I work from home for a while?"

"Nibbles" are when you extend an agreement with further small concessions. Works best when the other side is under more pressure than you - they were happy to get to your yes, and the pain of losing your agreement is something they will avoid.

"Expanding the pie" is more like changing the game. You have one thing you're negotiating on, and it's a zero-sum situation. One winner and one loser. But what if you bring other things into the negotiation, to turn that into a win-win situation? Then it's easier to find agreement.

Yes, I get that, but "Nibbles" still seem like after having concluded some sort of initial deal, you "expand the pie" by asking new stuff (instead of negotiating on the salary, you negotiate on salary+holidays+benefits).

Don't be confused by the fact that the meaning behind their names can be used in different contexts. You described "expanding my pie", while the intended meaning behind the name is "expanding everyone's pie".

Exactly.

The difference is "nibbles" is getting more out of the other party after an initial agreement has been made.

"Expanding the pie" is widening the scope of the negotiations in order to reach an agreement in the first place; within the parameters of the initial offering an agreement was never going to be made.

It's called expanding the pie when a change in the terms of the negotiation generates an even greater win for all parties involved.

The actual example in the podcast was over pumpkins. There was only one person selling pumpkins in the village the negotiator was in during her time in the Peace Corps. She wanted to buy all four of them but the farmer would only sell her two. She even tried offering double but the farmer wouldn't budge.

The customer took the position of buying all four pumpkins because she needed them in order to make enough pumpkin pies.

The farmer took the position of keeping two pumpkins because she needed the seeds to plant for next year's crop.

Once they got out of positional bargaining and discovered the root of the problem, the solution became clear: The customer gets all 4 pumpkins at the original price, but first the farmer opens them all and takes the seeds, which the customer would have thrown out anyway. Thus, both got more than they would have if they'd stuck to their original positions.

Expanding the pie is more about:

1. calculating the total combined value all involved parties receive from making a deal 2. trying to increase this value above and beyond their BATNAs 3. then carving up and sharing this excess

So it's about focusing on specialized synergies and value creation. For a more in-depth read I'd recommend Co-Opetition by Brandenburger and Nalebuff (whose class on Negotiations I just completed): http://www.amazon.com/Co-Opetition-Revolution-Combines-Compe...

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