Monday, February 11, 2008

How to plan a negotiation place?

If your company is building a new space, get involved in planning the room where most of the negotiating occurs. Fight hard to make it the right size, near the restrooms, and near some areas that can be used for break-out sessions. Everyone has a tendency — during these days when money is hemorrhaging all over the place — to cut back on the negotiating space because “we don’t use it that much” or “we can make do with less.”

All this is true. However, if you consider how important selling is to your company, or negotiating major deals to your law firm, or closing a transaction to your bank or real estate business, you cannot overrate the value of this space. This location is where you really make money. It is where the deals are made that are at the heart of your business. Don’t “do with less” in your negotiating space unless you are willing to “do with less” in your negotiation. Scale down offices if you have to, but don’t scale down your negotiation space.

The next time your company designs new office space, look around at great negotiating spaces. You don’t need a huge budget, but you do need to keep in mind some basic needs. A good negotiating space is more than a huge conference table with marble top. In fact, the marble top can be a bit formal for most negotiations. In my law office, we have break-out rooms nearby, great cross ventilation, and a work station that can be turned toward the conference area. Everything is at our fingertips. The area was designed by Marni Belsome, who took into consideration these tips about good negotiating space.

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