How to prepare for any negotiation

Knowing how to get agreement between two parties is key in business. Two experts who have dealt with life-and-death negotiations offer their insight

Negotiation is key to business success. Almost everything that happens within an organisation requires people to reach an agreement.

While securing investment, hiring staff or dealing with suppliers are obvious examples, negotiation is also required in internal conflict resolution, project timelines, establishing company policies, giving and receiving feedback – the list goes on. That makes it incredibly important for leaders to hone their negotiation skills.

For this masterclass, we speak to two experts. The first, Sue Williams, is a former senior detective with the Metropolitan Police and an expert in hostage negotiation. She was involved in the successful resolution of hundreds of kidnap and hostage situations both on land and at sea. She now serves as a member of the risk and advisory board at the risk management firm Healix.

The second, George Kohlrieser, is a professor of leadership and organisational behaviour at the International Institute for Management Development. He is also the author of Hostage at the table: How leaders can overcome conflict, influence others and raise performance.

He has worked with global companies and their leaders in more than 100 countries. Before that, he worked with the police, the military and humanitarian organisations in Israel, the Palestinian territories and Croatia. During his work, he has been taken hostage four times – and used his skills to negotiate his way out.