Leadership Transitions: The Watkins Collection (4 Items)

efforts to learn, both away from the table and through direct

interactions with his counterparts.

The old adage “Information is power” is certainly true in

negotiations. In fact, good alternatives and superior informa-

tion usually are the important sources of bargaining power. To

illustrate why this is the case, suppose that Paul could wave a

magic wand and have full information about the interests and

bottom lines of his counterparts at the three companies, while

they were completely in the dark about his.

This would alter the situation in Paul’s favor in two critical ways.

First, he would be able to make good decisions about whether

and with whom to negotiate, because he would know whether

there were potential zones of agreements. Second, he would ...