
106 SEVEN SECRETS FOR NEGOTIATING WITH GOVERNMENT
4. Make your negotiations problem-solving exercises. A ne-
gotiation is most productive when both people see it as a way to
solve a common problem, rather then a contest of wills or a debate
over positions.
5. Create options together. Once interests are out in the open,
suggest options that will satisfy those interests. Unlike a position
that can be satisfied only by its acceptance, an interest can often
be advanced in several different ways. Thus, if the negotiators in
the Egyptian case had recognized and discussed in an open way
the political implications of a settlement, they might have devel-
oped