Quantum Negotiation

5 What You See Is Not What You Get

A delegation from a major Moroccan financial institution was excited to meet with EquiTech (ET), a UK‐headquartered fintech company, to negotiate the terms of their business relationship. ET's advanced technology platform seemed best suited to meet their needs for enhanced security, speed, and reliability of certain financial transactions. They were chosen from among three contenders, including one from France and the other from Germany, whose technology promised similar advantages. What distinguished ET was their customer support—well, supposedly.

Already, after the first day, the Moroccan delegation was ready to pull out. Their executives were incensed at the rude and disrespectful reception by their host. Their conduct and lack of courtesy and attention to their guests did not match the promises of being focused on customer needs. That evening a junior member of the delegation communicated to the ET team how displeased the Moroccan executives were and that they were considering withdrawing from the negotiation.

This news puzzled and surprised the ET team. The conversations had been friendly and pleasant, although a bit less substantive than the team expected. They were prepared, and they presented at great length the specifics of the arrangement, the anticipated updating and upgrading cycles, project implementation plans, and even offered to train their prospective client's staff at no additional cost in order to address gaps in their ...