Negotiations Ninja Podcast Lessons Learned from a Failed Negotiation with William Ury, Ep #437
Feb 26, 2024
William Ury, an anthropologist-turned-mediator who co-founded Harvard’s Program on Negotiation, reflects on a career spent preventing destructive conflict. He recounts a coal-mine mediation failure and how building trust with communities changed outcomes. He explores AI’s rising role in negotiation and shares his 'possibilist' view on transforming deep, real-world conflicts.
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Ratification Rejected After Manager-Level Agreement
- William Ury recounts a coal-mine mediation that initially failed when miners rejected a negotiated deal despite leader approval.
- He learned that constituencies not at the table matter as much as negotiators and require deliberate engagement.
Negotiation Has Multiple Tables
- Ury emphasizes there are multiple 'tables' in negotiation: the negotiators' table and internal constituency tables.
- He advises taking the balcony view to see the larger picture and design sustainable agreements.
Winning Trust By Going Down The Mine
- Ury moved to live near the miners and even descended into the coal mine to build trust directly with workers.
- After a rough initiation ritual, miners accepted him and strikes gradually ended as trust grew.
