Write down your limits

I learned the importance of writing down limits for a negotiation during the seminars in which I run a mock negotiation. Originally, I had participants write down their goals and limits and turn them in before they would start negotiating. While they were busy negotiating, I reviewed each team’s limits and goals to see where the negotiation would end up. In fact, I could predict the results based on this review and was seldom wrong. However, every now and then, someone would settle outside the limits the team had handed in. When I asked why, the person invariably would answer that he or she had forgotten the limit the team had set.
Usually the class had a good laugh and that was that. But it bothered me. I started having participants write down the limits and goals and keep a copy with them during the mock negotiation. That solved the problem. Participants never forgot their limits again.
It’s easy to understand how people can get caught up in a negotiation and reach an agreement that they would not otherwise agree to if they had just set their limits and then remembered them as the negotiation drew to a close. A lot of people would avoid buyer’s remorse if they would set and stick to their limits. When you write down your limits — your walk-away points —before you start negotiating, you are well on your way to remembering —and enforcing — your limits.