Day 3 wrap-up

It has been an absolute pleasure getting to know everyone and seeing you develop and refine your negotiation skills over the past 3 sessions. As I'm sure you now realize, the experiential nature of this class meant that all of the work that you put in was not only to your benefit, but also critical for creating a positive experience for your classmates. Thank you for your engagement in the lectures and exercises. We hope that you leave this class feeling much more prepared and confident in your ability to negotiate effectively in your daily life.

As discussed at the end of class, I have a few final announcements to share with you:

• The deadline to submit your final paper is 11:59 pm EST on Sunday, May 6
  Please see the syllabus for instructions. To submit your final paper, please upload it to Stellar (not iDG) under the "Homework" section. Please remember not to put your name anywhere on the paper so that we can grade the papers anonymously.

  I have also prepared a short guide and checklist to help you navigate the final paper. You can find the guide on Stellar under the "Materials" section. Please get in touch with me if you have any questions about your choice of topic or the paper in general.

• Please submit subject evaluations by 5 pm EST on Saturday, May 5
  One thing I've enjoyed most about TAing this class is getting your feedback and being able to act on it, for example with the improved participation format. We'd love to hear your thoughts and feedback so that we can continue to improve the course for future cohorts. Please click here or see the email that the EMBA office sent you for a link to the evaluations.

• New materials have been posted to Stellar.
  The following are under the "Materials" section:

  • Slides from Day 3
  • Simon's tips and checklist for final paper

• Join our LinkedIn group
  We have a LinkedIn group that is open to anyone that has taken Professor Curhan's Negotiations course. If you click the above link and request access, I will approve it. You're also welcome to add me as a connection.

• Resources for further study
  At the end of class, Professor Curhan mentioned a number of resources for further study and keeping your negotiation skills sharp:
  • A list of recommended readings is on Stellar under the "Materials" section.
  • The Program on Negotiation is a non-profit inter-university consortium between MIT, Harvard, and Tufts that offers a number of resources. The Negotiation Briefings newsletter requires a fee, but there are also a number of free weekly reports that you can subscribe to that cover broad issues, like dealing with difficult people and tactics. For those of you who who are interested in conducting negotiations simulations like the ones we did in class, you will find plenty of cases on the site, sorted by topic.

• Future access to iDecisionGames
  Although we have no plans to revoke your access to iDG, you should save (by printing to PDF) any personalized feedback and cases that you may wish to access in the future.

I just want to reiterate what a true joy the past 3 sessions were for me and that I hope you’ll reach out to me in the future if there’s ever anything that I can do for you.

All the best,
Simon

Announced on 30 April 2018  3:08  p.m. by Simon C Friis

MIT End of Course Survey | Open until Saturday, May 5 at 5:00 PM

Dear EMBA18 Students,

Please note that the online subject evaluation for 15.712 Negotiation and Influence is now open. You will have one week — from today, Saturday, April 28 until Saturday, May 5 at 5:00 p.m. — to complete your evaluation.
The survey will be available at the following link:
https://survey.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_etI8rzsM3whUkFT&SURVEY_ID=651500174705&counter=1&2018SP

It takes less than 10 minutes to fill out an evaluation. You need only answer questions that are applicable, and can write comments as appropriate.
* Reports, which include your anonymous responses, are not available to instructors and departmental officials until after final grades are submitted.
* All survey information will be retained and hosted on a third party (Qualtrics) server and not on an MIT Sloan server.
* Instructors are counting on you to provide feedback on curriculum and teaching and your responses are read and valued.

Thank you in advance for your participation.

Announced on 28 April 2018  2:11  p.m. by Becca Souza

Day 3 announcements and reminders

Thank you for an excellent second day of class! I'm looking forward to seeing you again this Saturday. Please see below for a few reminders and announcements.

1. Room change! Class is in E62-233.
   A previous version of the syllabus stated we'd be in the Executive Education Suite. Class will be held in the same room as our previous classes, E62-233. Also, remember that we start early (8 am)!
    
2. Read your confidential instructions and complete the pre-negotiation surveys for Harborco on iDG by 11:59 pm ET this Thursday (April 26).
   As you'll see, the Harborco case involves six parties and a variety of issues, making it significantly more challenging but also more exciting than our previous cases. This also means that you'll need to plan your strategy much more carefully: how does the presence of multiple parties at the table affect your ability to create and claim value?
    
   • How to access: Go to "Exercises" on iDecisionGames.com.
   • How to submit: Submit your pre-negotiation survey on iDG. You do NOT need to submit anything to Stellar or via email.
   • How long will it take: Because this case is significantly more complicated, your preparation for this case will take a bit longer than previous cases. Set aside at least 2-3 hours and be sure to read your confidential instructions very carefully.
      
3. Read your confidential instructions and complete the pre-negotiation surveys for Three Party Coalition on iDG by 11:59 pm ET this Thursday (April 26).
   This is a relatively simple, single-issue negotiation, but the multi-party aspect of this negotiation makes it more dynamic than previous cases.
    
   • How to access: Go to "Exercises" on iDecisionGames.com.
   • How to submit: Submit your pre-negotiation survey on iDG. You do NOT need to submit anything to Stellar or via email.
   • How long will it take: ~1 hour.
      
4. Review your personalized feedback from the PEA survey before class.
   We will be discussing your results first thing on Saturday.
    
   • How to access: Go to "Exercises" on iDecisionGames.com.
   • How to submit: You do NOT need to submit anything. Simply review your results and the explanations on iDG.
   • How long will it take: ~30 minutes.
      
5. Slides from Day 2 are now on Stellar.
   Click here to access the Materials section on Stellar.
    
6. Continue the conversation in our Slack channel!
   We had some really engaging discussions that we didn't quite get to finish in class. For example, there was a great discussion on stereotypes and their role in negotiation. I have posted a few topics for discussion in the channel, but feel free to raise your own questions and issues! So I hope that you'll continue them in our Slack channel. As Professor Curhan mentioned at the end of class, participating in Slack is optional and can only improve your grade. I'll do my best to respond to your questions and keep the conversation going.

I'm looking forward to seeing you again on Saturday (and in Slack)! As always, let me know if you have any questions or if there's anything that I can help with.

Best,
Simon

Announced on 24 April 2018  1:54  p.m. by Simon C Friis

Day 2 reminders

I hope you've been well and that you're looking forward to Day 2 of class after this long break! The topics that we'll be covering in the coming class are the ones that I think makes negotiation most interesting: whereas Day 1 focused on distributive bargaining, Day 2 will focus on integrative bargaining. You will also notice that the negotiation exercises are becoming more complex and realistic.

But before we get there, please see below for a few important reminders and updates:

1. The deadline to submit your pre-negotiation surveys for the Freelance Consultant and Bakra Beverage cases is 11:59 pm tomorrow  (Thursday, Apr 12).

   Please be sure to submit both assignments by the deadline indicated above. Let me know if you thin Instructions on how to access and submit the cases are as follows:

   • To access the assignment: log in to your iDecisionGames.com account.
   • To submit the assignment: read the instructions and complete the pre-negotiation survey. Please remember to click the "submit" button after filling out the survey. You do not need to upload your response to Stellar or email it to me.
   • How long will this take? Each case is approximately the same length as 67 Fishpond Lane (i.e., 1-2 hours each, including reading and preparation).
2. 
   
3. Please come to class having read Getting to YES.
   You do not need to prepare or submit anything based on the reading.
4. 
   
5. Remember that class starts early (8:00 am).
   Class will be held in E62-233 again. Please note the early start time for all of our classes.
6. 
   
7. If you didn't get a chance to share your thoughts in class, come check out our Slack channel!
   Based on your feedback, we decided to test this out as an alternative way to let people share their thoughts if they didn't get a chance to do so in class. Contributing to the Slack channel is entirely optional, but credit will be awarded in a way that is similar to how we assign credit for in-class contributions. You can access the Slack channel here. Access is by invitation only, so let me know if you didn't receive the signup email. Thanks to all of you who've participated so far.

As always, don't hesitate to reach out to me if I can help in any way. I'm looking forward to seeing you again soon!

Best,
Simon

Announced on 13 April 2018  4:09  p.m. by Simon C Friis

Day 1 wrap-up

Thank you for a fantastic first day of class! It was such a pleasure getting to put a face to the name and to chat with so many of your classmates. As I'm sure you can now tell, the experiential nature of this class means that you are integral to its success, so Professor Curhan and I couldn't be more thrilled to see how engaged everyone was. For those of you who came in from afar, I hope you have arrived home safe and sound.

Please see below for a few reminders and announcements to wrap up our first day. Since several of you have asked about participation credit, I have included more details about how this is graded at the end of the email.

Assignments

As Professor Curhan mentioned at the end of class, there are 3 assignments to complete prior to our next class. Please note that the cases will not be made available until Thursday, March 29.

1. Read your confidential instructions and complete the pre-negotiation survey for the Freelance Consultant case on iDG by 11:59 pm on Thursday, April 12.
   - How to access: The case will be posted to the "Exercises" section of iDecisionGames.com on March 29.
   - How to submit: Complete the pre-negotiation survey on iDecisionGames.com. You do not need to submit anything on Stellar or via email. Please note that the due date is TWO DAYS BEFORE CLASS.
   - How long will this take? About the same as 67 Fishpond Lane (~1-2 hours).
    
2. Read your confidential instructions and complete the pre-negotiation survey for the Bakra Beverage case on iDG by 11:59 pm on Thursday, April 12.
   Everything, including the deadline, is the same as for the Freelance Consultant case. Note that you must complete 1 pre-negotiation survey for Freelance and 1 for Bakra, i.e. 2 in total.
    
3. Read Getting to YES: Negotiating Agreement without Giving In before class (Saturday, April 14).
   - How to access: You should have received a copy of the book from the EMBA office.
   - How to submit: There are no deliverables for this assignment. Just come to class having read the book.
   - How long will this take? People read at very different speeds, so providing an accurate estimate is difficult. With that said, the book is non-technical and written in an accessible and informal style, so it is a relatively easy read. If you are comfortable with English and like to read at a leisurely pace, I'd put aside at least 4-6 hours.

As you will notice, these new cases require you to consider a greater range of interests. In this way, they are more complex than the relatively simple cases we practiced on Day 1. As you prepare for these negotiations, you will want to consider how the added complexities affect the way you approach the negotiation and if they affect the range of possible agreements.

Announcements

1. Slides from Day 1 are now on Stellar.
    
2. Join us on Slack!
   Perhaps the only downside to having such an engaged class is that we don't have the time to get to hear everyone's comments. To give everyone a chance to participate, we have a class Slack channel you can use to ask questions and share your thoughts.
   
   I realize you are busy, so participating in the Slack channel is completely optional. As a bonus, you will receive extra-credit towards your participation grade for the day. See details at the end of this email.
   
   The domain for our team is embanegotiation.slack.com. Access is by invitation only, which you should have already received. Please let me know if you did not receive an invitation. If you're already on Slack and would like to know how to sign in to multiple Slack teams, click here for a guide.

I'm very much looking forward to seeing you all again next month (and in Slack)! As always, let me know if you have any questions or if there's anything that I can help with.

Best,
Simon

Details on participation credit

Q: Why did you make a Slack channel? Do I have to use it?

Since not everyone can get a chance to contribute in class, high-value added contributions on Slack will be considered equivalent to in-class participation and earn you full participation credit for the day. With that said, I realize that you are busy and I don't want to add to the list of things that you need to keep track of outside of class. Therefore, participation on Slack is completely optional. In other words, there are two ways to earn full participation credit for the day: through in-class contributions or through contributions made on the Slack channel.

I am providing these details on how participation is evaluated in the interest of full transparency, clarity, and fairness. My intent here is definitely not to nitpick over the minutiae of what constitutes a "high-value added contribution".

Q: How is my participation evaluated?

You get a participation grade for each class: As stated in the syllabus, participation counts for 15% of your total grade and is split evenly across each class. I.e., the maximum participation grade for each class is 5%. Contributions on Slack will count toward your participation grade for a given class if (1) the contribution relates to that class, and (2) if it is made after class but prior to the next class. For example, you will receive participation credit for Day 1 if you share a message that is relevant to the topics covered in Day 1 and you do so before we start Day 2.

Quality vs. quantity: The quality of your contribution is far more important than the number of contributions you make. This goes for both in-class participation as well as participation on Slack. To reflect this, your participation in each session is evaluated on a simple scale consisting of ✓-, ✓, and ✓+ (check minus, check, and check plus):

• You will receive a ✓- for the day if you do not participate (either in class or on Slack) or if your question/comment is non-substantive or mostly irrelevant to the discussion. A ✓- will earn you 0% participation credit for the day.
• You will receive a ✓ for the day if you make a contribution that is both timely and relevant to the discussion at hand. For something to be considered a contribution, it must be different from anything that was already said in class. In other words, it's not sufficient to simply agree with or repeat an idea that was already shared by someone in class. A ✓ will earn you 3.5% participation credit for the day.
• To receive a ✓+ for the day, your contribution must not just be timely and relevant, but add significant value to the discussion. Contributions that add significant value tend to reflect high-level thinking skills, such as analysis, synthesis, and/or evaluation. A ✓+ will earn you the maximum of 5% participation credit for the day.

Announced on 06 March 2018  1:36  a.m. by Simon C Friis