International

®

The Importance of International

Negotiating Training

The ability to negotiate effectively across cultural lines is a key to success in today's global economy. Personnel asked to negotiate abroad (or domestically, with individuals from other cultures) are typically given no training whatsoever in the many perils of cross-cultural negotiation. They are severely handicapped as a result.

Four important trends have made the improvement of international negotiating skills a high-priority requirement for many organizations:

The incredible magnitude of international commerce;
The enormous potential for further growth and profit in the international marketplace;
The natural difficulty all negotiators—particularly Westerners—face when bargaining across cultural lines; and
The recent general resurgence of nationalism, aggravating intercultural sensitivity and irritability

Common Ground created the International Negotiate to Win® Workshop in recognition of the urgent need to enhance cross-cultural negotiating skills.

Who should attend International Negotiate to Win?

International Negotiate to Win is designed for individuals who negotiate with counterparts from other cultures, overseas or domestically. Team attendance is encouraged. Negotiate to Win® is not a prerequisite.

Methodology

Like Negotiate to Win, International Negotiate to Win creates a "high-immersion" training environment for maximum participation and learning. Instructional methods include multimedia, lecture, group discussion, diagnostic tests and evaluations, simulations, and other interactive techniques. During the program, students are regularly challenged to demonstrate what they've learned through generic and customized case study simulations.

Session Length

International Negotiate to Win is typically a two-day program. However, program length can be adjusted to fit your requirements— from under one hour to two or more days.

Instructors

Common Ground's instructors for International Negotiate to Win are uniquely proficient in cross-cultural negotiations. Our global network of trainers has handled scores of major international negotiations. They have represented or assisted the United States government in diplomatic, trade, and arms control negotiations. They have participated in GATT, WTO, INF, and MBFR negotiations. Common Ground's professionals have been honored to be selected by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management to train the senior federal managers who negotiate major international agreements. The U.S. Department of Commerce's International Trade Administration and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative have both chosen Common Ground's experts to train their international negotiators. Some are "area specialists" with particular expertise in specific countries or regions. All are exceptional teachers with considerable training experience and first-rate platform skills. They can conduct workshops in most languages. Please click here for information about our instructors.

Tailoring

Many firms promise tailored programs but deliver the same tired old materials. Common Ground is different. When we say tailored, we mean it. We work with you to ensure that International Negotiate to Win thoroughly and specifically addresses your organization's priorities and concerns. We interview your people and (confidentially, of course) we learn your business—who you are, what you do, how you do it, where your industry stands and where you stand in your industry, what your short- and long-term objectives are, what circumstances your negotiators face, and who your target audience will be. With this information in hand, we prepare unique training materials for you.

Tailored case studies—lifelike scenarios that students can instantly relate to—are the best way to clarify, validate, and reinforce classroom concepts, and make them immediately transferable to the workplace. Common Ground is unsurpassed when it comes to the creation of unique, client-specific exercises. At no additional charge, we work in partnership with you to develop convincingly realistic scenarios that will excite and inform your attendees.

Highlights of International Negotiate to Win

The global economy and the growing importance of cross-cultural negotiating

How culture influences international negotiations

American ethnocentrism and other special handicaps for Americans in dealing with non-Americans

Common cultural assumptions

Politeness, directness, "yes," silence

Time and patience; cultural differences in perception of time and timeliness

Getting acquainted; customs, gifts, business cards, and personal questions

Status; position, age, gender

Homework; issues, sources of information

Choosing and managing your international negotiating team

Miscellaneous international customs

Conflict and emotion in cross-cultural settings

Using interpreters and translators more effectively

Lies and lawyers: truth-telling, contractual formality

Rules affecting the transfer of goods, services, people, and money across international borders

Structural analysis of letters of credit

The U.N. Sales Convention and UNIDROIT principles

Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

Choosing the appropriate structure for the business relationship

Foreign protective legislation

How to structure foreign licensing agreements

Tips on obtaining government approvals

International intellectual property and technology transfer issues

Financing international projects

Cross-border mergers and acquisitions

Negotiating and structuring international joint ventures

International antitrust issues

Political risk insurance for international business ventures

Negotiating and drafting international agency and distribution agreements

Taxation considerations in structuring international agreements

International dispute settlement

International Negotiate to Win

for Specific Regions, Nations, and Cultures

International Negotiate to Win is designed to give participants broad, well-rounded competency in today's best international negotiating practices. In some situations, participants may require negotiating training more specifically focused on the unique negotiating circumstances of a particular cultural area, language group, or nation. As an independent program or as a supplement to International Negotiate to Win, Common Ground can provide the country-specific instruction and materials that will help your negotiators succeed anywhere in today's global marketplace. For your region of interest, our experts will give your team a thorough understanding of the cultural, ideological, political, bureaucratic, trade, legal, and tax issues governing negotiations.

Confidentiality

In all aspects of their work with Common Ground, clients are assured of complete confidentiality. Our commitment to discretion and privacy encourages clients to give us access to the information we need to customize International Negotiate to Win for maximum participation and learning. Upon request, Common Ground will be pleased to formalize this promise with a Nondisclosure Agreement.

Participant Materials

Participants receive a variety of valuable in-class and take-home handouts and tools, including checklists, case studies, samples, guides, pocket reference cards, a personal action planner, and International Negotiate to Win's outstanding Manual (designed as a practical, desktop reference for continued use long after the session).

On-Site Requirements

You provide the training facility, an LCD projector, a screen, a flip chart and markers, and above all, enthusiastic attendees who sincerely want to improve their negotiating skills! Optional items such as sign-in sheets, evaluation forms, writing materials, name cards and badges, and diplomas are supplied by clients.

Guarantee

Our guarantee is very straightforward. We think it says a lot about the effectiveness of Common Ground training. We guarantee that within two weeks after International Negotiate to Win, you'll recover the price of the session through better negotiating. If not, we'll refund your money.

Detailed Information

For more information about International Negotiate to Win or International Negotiate to Win for Specific Regions, Nations, and Cultures, including a course outline, agenda, and proposal, please click "Tell Me More," below.

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