{"id":12879,"date":"2022-05-03T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-03T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scotwork.com\/nz\/blog-nz\/what-to-do-with-a-tuna-sandwich\/"},"modified":"2022-05-03T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-05-03T00:00:00","slug":"what-to-do-with-a-tuna-sandwich","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scotwork.com\/nz\/blog-nz\/2022\/what-to-do-with-a-tuna-sandwich\/","title":{"rendered":"What to do with a tuna sandwich"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

A friend emerged from a bakery carrying a small packet of mixed sandwiches – you know, the sort they give you in hospital recovery rooms. There are variations on the theme, but there is usually one ham and pickle, one cheese and lettuce, one tomato, one curried egg and of course\u2026 a tuna sandwich, which must be everybody’s\u2019 least favourite.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The tuna sandwich is a metaphor for a dilemma faced by many negotiators when they receive a proposal. Some elements they like, others they can live with, but then there is sticking point; an unacceptable term (the tuna sandwich).\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

So, what do you do with that tuna sandwich?\u00a0<\/p>\n

As a negotiator, you need to decide whether it is a deal breaker \u2013 enough to force you to reject the entire package. Meaning no ham, cheese, tomato et cetera. This would be the equivalent of a\u00a0\u2018must get\u2019<\/strong>\u00a0or\u00a0\u2018non-negotiable\u2019<\/strong>\u00a0item. If so then you should reveal this as early as possible, so that the other party doesn\u2019t spend time and effort constructing a tuna sandwich for you. In other words, alert the kitchen to an allergy and request an extra ham sandwich to substitute for the loss of the tuna.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Key lesson<\/em>:<\/em>\u00a0Non-negotiable elements should not emerge late in the negotiation.<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

If, on balance, the package provides all of your \u2018musts gets\u2019 (the no-tuna elements) then you may accept the package as is, and not eat the tuna sandwich or if the sandwich is a requirement of the other party, hold your nose and take large bites.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

There are of course more creative solutions than the binary accept and reject. If the tuna was\u00a0low value to you, but high cost for the other party<\/strong>\u00a0to provide, you could trade it back for more of ham or cheese or even a muffin. You could accept the tuna sandwich and trade it to someone who prefers the tuna.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Key lesson<\/em>: Trade on value to the other party not cost to you.<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n

I am sure that there are other solutions to this negotiating dilemma and we would love you to share them.\u00a0<\/p>\n

PS: I love tuna, but not in a sandwich.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/article>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A friend emerged from a bakery carrying a small packet of mixed sandwiches – you know, the sort they give you in hospital recovery rooms. There are variations on the theme, but there is usually one ham and pickle, one cheese and lettuce, one tomato, one curried egg and of course\u2026 a tuna sandwich, which…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":86,"featured_media":12880,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_legacy_url":"blog-nz\/2022\/what-to-do-with-a-tuna-sandwich\/","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12879","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat to do with a tuna sandwich | Scotwork NZ Negotiation Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"World leaders in business negotiation training and consultancy with experts across 120 countries, with negotiation courses taught in 29 languages.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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