Negotiators Checklist

I was reading a wonderful HBR article by James Sebenius. He talks about the habits of negotiators that often result in a failed negotiation, financial and non financial losses and a lot of frustration.
Generally at the start of a negotiation process negotiators have a few things ready. Out of those the most important thing is the BATNA(Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement). Thus it is very important to analyze and deduce the BATNA of the other party. Any negotiation that goes below the BATNA is a no-deal.
Eventually however the process of negotiation can become personal. After all the agreement may be between two companies or governments or organizations but it is humans sitting at the table doing the negotiation.
James Sebenius points out six mistakes that negotiators do
1> Neglecting the other side's problem -> I feel that an important quality that all negotiators should possess is empathy. That will let them understand the other side's problems

2> Let Price Bulldoze Other Interests -> Sebenius calls them "reverse Midas" negotiators. In a strong urge to drive a hard bargain they often fail to notice a potential joint gain. A very important quality at this level is a person's ability of Fairness or Justice. It may seem vague but combined with empathy ability to judge a situation fairly limits the damage of a price based negotiation.

3> Letting Positions Drive out Interests -> A very common situation where the negotiators overlook their interests or issues and take positions based on a common criteria like price. The people at the negotiating table must be flexible and show genuine signs of resolving the issue or meeting the interest.

4> Searching Too Hard to find the Common Ground -> With different people having different interests it is often hard to find common ground. the negotiators must have the ability to engage deeply in dialogue and drill down to the actual interests and concerns. There must be an active effort to find out the exact differences. The next step will be to prioritize the differences.

5> Neglecting BATNA -> This is especially true from the perspective of hard facts. All deals necessarily have some pros and cons and the negotiators should have the the BATNA in front of them to avoid making mistakes. Probably this is the easiest part to prepare before the start of the negotiation process.

6> Failing to correct Skewed vision -> Evaluating the BATNA of the person at the other side of the negotiation table is equally important. Although there may be a certain amount of uncertainty and information asymmetry the negotiators must have the ability to judge.

Thus we see negotiations that are successful and beneficial to both parties are indeed due to the exceptional personal capabilities of the persons at the negotiation table. In short it can be said that effective negotiators should be soft on the people but hard on the target.