We have a mysterious storm at the heart of our planet. Earth’s magnetic field shields us from cosmic rays and preserves our atmosphere. The Sun and some other planets have magnetic fields, but barren Mars doesn’t. Deep in our planet’s center, a self-sustaining geodynamo generates our magnetic field from cyclones of energized liquid metal. Magnetic fields always accompany electric ones and visa-versa. Since one needs the other, how did it start in the first place?
Negotiation includes a similar ‘chicken or the egg’ dilemma. We teach preparation precedes and accompanies engagement, but only encounters deliver results. Is one possible without the other, and where do they start?
The beginning or impatient negotiator might stumble and get distracted by the issue. Does success spring from those uniquely skilled, homework, or luck? Is failure a result of offline preparation or online engagement?
Confusing Signals
Because a massive magnetic field protects our planet, we eventually became curious enough to understand electric and magnetic fields’ interconnectedness. Electromagnets underlie speakers, phone chargers, and electric cars. Yet without plugging them in, they don’t work. A self-sustaining electromagnet couldn’t start by itself: apparently, a circular problem. Such issues perplex us, from supply vs. demand in economics to nature vs. nurture in psychology.
Our curiosity became so intense that we looked beyond physical processes to contemplate work processes like negotiation’s focused communication. Successful negotiations interweave offline and online activities.
As a negotiator builds experience, the puzzle may become more tangled. Should we infer past events train and build skill, somehow mysteriously integrating into our subconscious, or do practice and reflection drive learning?
A Dynamic Dilemma
Earth’s magnetic field aligns closely with the planet’s rotation, a favorable match-up for our curiosity. We easily imagined the Earth as a giant electromagnet, its dipole running through the center. Energized, we try to jump from correlation to causation. However, our interlinked electrical and magnetic fields don’t exist independent of a source of energy; it needs a push. Our mental motor seizes up around a causality paradox: how did the geodynamo start?
Negotiation occurs online. It is a discussion between two people searching for a more productive solution than achievable alone. People choose to bargain if they think a favorable resolution is possible. They want answers.
Naturally but troublesomely, offline preparation occurs after one has decided to negotiate, not before. Should we leap into a negotiation, proposing solutions, to get a faster answer? Ambiguous situations beg for resolution.
Connecting the Dots
The fact is there is an operating geodynamo below our feet. So rather than a causality dilemma, there must be an answer. A causality paradox is generally a false problem: it is circular but only because of the question’s structure. First, we know Earth’s magnetic field arises from liquid iron, a massive amount of energy, and high-speed rotation. Electrically conductive material, temperatures similar to the Sun’s surface, and hurricane-like Coriolis effects. Cause and effect.
To negotiate efficiently and effectively, we need a clear vision of the environment, the goals, and the possible ways the other party might be looking at the situation. Homework leads to better results and surprises to worse.
Preparation is first, but that’s not the end of the story. When we intentionally reflect on events, we are preparing for the next discussion. Review is preparation recycled and reinforced. Success requires homework.
First Things First
Deep beneath us, a massive amount of hot, conductive, liquid rock gyrates around a solid core, spinning even faster than the Earth’s surface. A situation so complicated that no calculation simulates the actual geodynamo. Under these conditions, even a mild external magnetic field such as the Sun’s (at this distance) would have been sufficient to trigger the vortex into a self-sustaining electromagnet. The magnet field was indeed first, just not Earth’s.
We negotiate, compelled to solve problems. Our uniquely common tools for language, culture, and solutions interconnect offline and online. They link together our mental, interpersonal, and social efforts in negotiation.
Preparation and engagement are as intertwined as electric and magnetic fields. Engaging without preparing is a tortuous route to success, at best. A negotiator’s preliminary review of context and style before discussion structures success.