Negotiation Tactics and Strategies for the International Oil and Gas Industry

Due to the complexity of the modern business environment, the element of negotiation is a constant process. It defines and establishes contractual rights; duties and obligations of parties; it governs the deployment of proprietary technology and processes and guards IP rights. It forms the basis of relationships between multi-cultural stakeholders and serves as a mechanism to resolve conflict and disputes. It is therefore, both essential and of critical importance in the commercial world. It is important to remember that not all negotiation is a formal, structured process – sometimes informal networks and the strength of relationships can be tremendously powerful. However, relationships aren’t simply made, like any form of interaction they require work and effort. They must be maintained. Different parties will most likely have different wants or needs and there is always scope for relationships to breakdown due to cultural differences, misunderstandings, or simple miscommunication.

The ability to achieve goals, to win business, to have ideas accepted by others are just some of the dimensions of negotiation – we all do it on a daily basis. For those of us engaged within, or who must participate in some role within complex commercial negotiations, the ability to influence others, solve problems and diffuse conflict is invaluable to everyone. Formal training in this area is often difficult to find – most people ‘learn’ how to negotiate through experience. Effective negotiation is by no means a simple task – there are a myriad of underpinning factors that must be identified, as well as the often unforeseen or random events impacting upon the process. The negotiator needs to be quick thinking and adaptable, they need to possess superlative communicative abilities, they need to be facilitators, problem solvers and above all they must understand people and what motivates and/or drives them within different situational environments and contexts.

Different techniques work in different environments at different times. This course will develop these skills and abilities within the attendees. Focus is on interaction and the acquisition of value adding skills – delivered through an immersive, detailed program lasting 5 days within which a ‘live’ inter-team negotiation takes place in parallel

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

On completion of this course, the delegate will:

• Be able to evaluate how to approach the negotiation

• Will understand the importance of due diligence prior to commencement

• Know how to ‘scope’ a negotiation

• Be able to evaluate and plan for negotiating in different environments

• Be able to utilize a structured approach to planning and preparation for a negotiation

• Understand the cultural interface and the critical importance of culture to commercial negotiations

• Gain an enhanced understanding of stress and what it means within the negotiation context

• Be able to manage conflict efficiently

• Understand the dynamics of team based/multiple party negotiations and why they are different from ‘one-on-one’ scenarios.

• Become effective in stakeholder management and have increased awareness of the vital importance of understanding stakeholder expectations and eliminating ‘value-gaps’

COST

The registration fee of the workshop is £995 plus VAT (VAT UK only) which includes course notes.

PAYMENT

We will send you an invoice for the course fee after you have registered on the course. The payment can be made via bank transfer or online credit/debit card payment. If you need any further information, please contact us by email: info@mam.engineer 

PROGRAMME (All times listed refer to local London time)

COURSE CONTENT

Topic 1: Styles of negotiation

• The critical choice – cooperation or competition?

• Key determining factors

• Class exercise: The Ultimatum Game

• Template: formulating negotiation choice

• The problem with self interest

• The problem with resource scarcity

• Trade off decision making

• Template: Evaluating critical factors for choice of negotiation

• Template: 3 key rules for effective negotiation

• Advantages and disadvantages of the differing styles of negotiation

• Team exercise: Part 1

Topic 2: Planning to negotiate

• Achieving clarity in your goals and outcomes

• Technique: The due diligence process

• Refining the DD process – SMART information

• The value of information

• Information and decision making

Topic 3: Preparing to negotiate

• Template: Setting mission objectives

• Template: The 7 key steps to developing a negotiation plan

• The benefits of planning

• The significance of culture to commercial negotiation

• Technique: The negotiation decision making model

• Team exercise: Part 2

Topic 4: Managing conflict and stress

• The ‘fire’ principle

• The cost of conflict in negotiations

• Template: Conflict resolution

• Miscommunication

• The importance of ‘emotional equilibrium’

Topic 5: Negotiation as a tool for dispute resolution

• Formal and informal negotiations

• Mediation

• Med-Arb

• Arb-Med

• The importance of the Arbitral Clause

• Multi-tiered or ‘escalation’ arbitral clauses explained

Topic 6: Power and negotiation

• Overview

• Examination of types of power and what they mean to commercial negotiation

Topic 7: Establishing and maintain control

• Model: The cycle of emotive handling

• The critical importance of emotional control

• Technique: The Art of Questioning

• The different purposes of questions

• The structured agenda

• The concept of trust

• Team exercise: Part 3

Topic 8: Deception; lying and half truths

• Class exercise ‘3 things about me’

• Deception

• Lying

• The ‘Plausibility perception paradigm

Topic 9: Strategies and tactics of negotiation:

• Dealing with uncertainty

• Making the disclosure choice

• Template: Establishing a Trade-off Process

• Some different tactics to use

• Team exercise: Part 4 – conclusion

Topic 10: Team negotiations

• Model: Tuckman’s Team Formation

• Advantages of team negotiations

• Disadvantages of team negotiations

• Template: Keys to effective team based negotiations

• Issues of remote or virtual teams

• Advantages of remote or virtual teams

• Disadvantages of remote or virtual teams

• Summing up and class discussion

LECTURER BIO

Christopher Lennon is the Director of Stone Falcon Corporate and Legal Consulting Ltd – a company that works internationally based in Scotland, UK. Chris has 30 years’ experience within the oil and gas industry; renewables and energy generation – initially working offshore on rigs in the UK and Norway before becoming involved with projects and supply chain issues. He helped establish an anti-corrosion production facility in Aberdeen for casing tubulars – running the production facility initially before going on to create and manage the supply chain. He has set up distribution networks supporting the North Sea E&P industry within Aberdeen. He has managed (and continues to do so) a variety of ‘special projects’ internationally – normally strategic or change management focussed. He has worked/consulted extensively within the field of project management and supply chain management – is a contracts specialist and an international commercial arbitrator.  He specialises in training commercial negotiators internationally. He has worked directly with a number of governments and energy ministers.

He is empanelled as both an Arbitrator and a Mediator at the Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC); has the Freedom of the City of London; is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators; a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Arbitrators and a member of the Association of International Energy Negotiators. He holds an MBA and LLB from the University of Aberdeen, as well as the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators DipICArb. He has over 25 years teaching experience including a number of universities across a wide range of subjects. Universities include: The University of Aberdeen (School of Law; Postgraduate Business School (MBA programme); School of Engineering (MSc. In Project Management); The Robert Gordon University (MSc. Programmes – Project Management and Operations Management); Middlesex University (online MBA programme); The University of Seoul (Project Management)

Professional bodies:

• Empanelled as both Arbitrator and Mediator at the Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC)

• Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb)

• AIEN (Association of International Energy Negotiators) – long standing member

• Member of BEWA (Baltic Exchange Expert Witness Association)

Publications: 

• The Silver Bullets of Project Management https://www.routledge.com/The-Silver-Bullets-of-Project-Management/Lennon/p/book/9781032037820 

• The Silver Bullets of Commercial Negotiation Strategies and Tactics https://www.routledge.com/The-Silver-Bullets-of-Commercial-Negotiation-Strategies-and-Tactics/Lennon/p/book/9781032204758