CHAPTER 14
Countering Team Strategies HOW TO KEEP THE UPPER HAND
are often difficult to expose as they are composed of many distracting personal styles. On top of this, your preset strategy has been thoroughly worked out and may already be in place so you may be unwilling to make any dramatic changes. As equally important as choosing your strategy is the ability to recognize and counter the opposition’s choice. Just as each team member must master a variety of styles, so should a team be capable of switching strategies. Some strategies are better than others as counteractions and the weaker team will be the one that must adapt first. Stylistic superiority might give you the upper hand initially but strategic choice will maintain it.
TEAM STRATEGIES
Consensus A Consensus team forms a lumbering beast that attempts to roll over anything and anyone that’s directly in front of it. The speed of consensus taking can be increased or decreased depending on how such a team wishes to maneuver its counterparts. Their reaction to every issue is the same, and they’re loathe to change tactics, let alone strategy. Consensus teams plan in detail and execute everything they plan, regardless of outcome. Such teams must stick to an agenda and are very disoriented by counterparts who can (and do) handle change easily. COUNTERMEASURES
When both teams use Consensus, as is very common in Asia, negotiations can be long and drawn out as each side vies to control the field. Countering consensus with consensus is only recommended when the amount of time (and therefore money) devoted to the negotiation process isn’t a crucial factor. Host-buyers can always wield the upperhand when countering with Consensus. Weakly positioned sellers should never attempt this “fighting fire with fire” approach.
■ CONSENSUS
Cowboy teams that keep their wits and cool about them can do very well against Consensus but not from a selling position, unless they’re the only game in town. Because they can work solo as well as in a group setting, Cowboys can outmaneuver the lumbering Consensus by introducing new items (or new angles on old items) to the agenda and overload the Consensus taking process. During dispersal sessions, they can also put their counterparts on the defensive by questioning their decision-making ability and actual authority. This can be very disconcerting for counterparts of supposedly equal rank.
■ COWBOYS
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