
186 SEVEN SECRETS FOR NEGOTIATING WITH GOVERNMENT
to foresee all possible eventualities. Most modern contracts deny
the possibility of change. They therefore rarely provide for adjust-
ments to meet changing circumstances. This assumption of con-
tractual stability has proven false time and time again.
As suggested above, rather than view a long-term transaction
as frozen in the detailed provisions of a lengthy contract, it may be
more realistic to think of a long-term agreement as a continuing
negotiation between the parties as they seek to adjust their relation-
ship to the rapidly changing environment in which they must work
together. Accordingly