CATA WIT negotiating: make "different" into an advantage

Stacey Allerton Firth

Like me, this probably wasn’t the picture you had in mind of someone you’d see seated across from Buzz Hargrove at the CAW bargaining table. But that’s the great thing about Stacey Allerton Firth, speaker at CATA WIT Toronto’s event at MaRS on Tuesday: she’s so much more than she appears.

And Stacey says it’s what makes her different that gave her an advantage at that table, as the lead negotiator for the 2005 CAW National Negotiations team. It was her first national lead role and the first time the negotiations had been led by a woman, so she could approach it from a fresh perspective. She could question the way that things were done before, bring in new ways and a new team.

And she has some key learnings to pass on to the rest of us who struggle with negotiating every day:

• Objectives must be interest-based – What would a successful outcome ‘headline’ look like for you and for the other party? Be sure that you’re not mistaking a particular position for your objective. There are many ways to achieve the same objective – don’t paint yourself into a corner by insisting on a position.
• Trust is THE critical element – What actions can you take to build trust? What might put trust at risk? What data would support your business case and help the other side to understand you and trust that you’re giving them the whole story?
• Success is grounded in realistic expectations – You may not be able to ‘fix’ every issue right away. Some things take time – relationship building is one of them. Be sure you’re shooting for something achievable.

And the results? The team reached an agreement supporting Ford’s vision for a sustainable and competitive business environment in Canada while protecting employees’ interests. If they can do that, maybe you can get your IT department to work with Marketing after all.