Learning to Negotiate: Heart toHeart

You have five minutes to decide who gets the heart.

During Enrichment Week, Year 12 were given the formidable task of negotiating whether a donor heart--with only minutes of viability-should go to a team of heart disease researchers or a single father. While hearts were front and centre, it was minds that carried the day. The Memorial Library welcomed David Joel, from the Institute of Directors,and president of the Hampshire Chamber of Commerce, to lead pupils through an exercise typically reserved for air marshals and 2-star generals. During the activity, the 6th formers were divided into two negotiation teams (research scientists and heart surgeons) or given the role of a neutral observer. The teams were given 10-minutes to decide on their arguments before facing off for a time-sensitive negotiation in which indecision could lead to a no-win

situation. Fear not heart patients, in five out of six scenarios, lateral thinking and a willingness to reach across the aisle led to compromises in which both parties were able to “the find common ground. intellectual “The level of engagement across capacity of the group was impressive and the the pupils was quality of thinking (and dare I say spectacular...” innovation!!) pursuing solutions to the exercise would give some of their more experienced adult counterparts a run for their money!” said Mr Joel in a follow up conversation. He also mentioned that “the intellectual capacity of the pupils was spectacular and that their thinking knew no boundaries.” Carol Webb