Taking Charge!

Negotiating Everything You Want Every Time

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This program picks up where the Harvard University program Negotiating to Yes (From the book: Getting To Yes) leaves off. Instead of a set of principles, Taking Charge! is built around Ross Reck’s four-step PRAM Model, which is the only model in existance that accurately depicts the entire negotiation process. PRAM is an acronym for the four steps of the model, which are: Plans, Relationships, Agreements and Maintenance. During this program, Ross will show participants how to routinely achieve spectacular results in their negotiations with customers, suppliers, labor unions and employees. Below are some examples of what Ross Reck’s negotiation program can do for you and your organization:

  • Cyprus-Bagdad Copper Company was closed because of depressed copper prices. The employees who were laid off and the company’s management were certain that the mine would never open again. Ross showed the members of the supply management department how to use his PRAM Model to negotiate significant cost reductions with suppliers which resulted in the mine re-opening in less than two months.
  • The Construction Machinery Division of John Deere was struggling and had never turned a profit during the first 23 years of its existence because its major competitor owned the market. Several key people from the marketing department attended Ross Reck’s Taking Charge! negotiation program and, that very same year, the division turned its first profit and it has been profitable ever since. Continuing to use the PRAM Model, John Deere has taken a large amount of market share away from its major competitor.
  • Using the PRAM Model, a fifteen year labor contract was negotiated between Magma Copper Company and the United Steel Workers Union that brought about annual double-digit productivity gains for Magma and $5,000 annual productivity bonuses for the hourly wage employees. This story made the front page of The Wall Street Journal.

Participants who complete this program will be able to:

  • Develop plans to achieve spectacular results
  • Build relationships that lead to “yes”
  • Negotiate agreements that make both parties better off
  • Get others excited about telling them “yes” over and over again
  • Achieve a more rewarding and fulfilling personal life

Delivery Method for the Program

Pre-Work: I highly recommend the following activity:

Using the Problem Solicitation Questionnaire, each participant develops a detailed written scenario of a negotiation problem they are currently experiencing. The participants will bring these scenarios to the program and during the final half-day of instruction; these scenarios will function as case studies. After the instructional part of the program has been completed, the class will be divided into “consulting teams” of 4-6 people. Each team will select one of the problem scenarios and, using the Negotiation Planning Guidelines, will develop a solution. The groups will present their problem and solution to the rest of the class and invite additional input from the other participants. The instructor will then debrief each group. This exercise is a very effective part of the program, because it is where learning is transferred into action.

Presentation of Core Material: The delivery method used to present this material will be a combination of small group discussion, group exercises, case study, and very lively lecture/discussion. Numerous and hard-hitting anecdotes from Ross Reck’s thirty years of consulting experience will be used to drive home key points.