These Strategies Will Help You Influence How Decisions Get Made

Negotiators who understand the most common decision rules — majority rule, chair decides and unanimity/consensus — and how to navigate each, can drive more favorable outcomes and increase their influence beyond their formal authority or power. In majority rule scenarios, which require more than 50% of a group to approve a course of action before it is taken, you will first want to map the interests of all decision-makers and then target influential fence-sitters by catering to some of their key interests.  In chair decides situations, where one person has the final call, you can pitch directly or to the individual’s closest confidantes. And in cases where votes must be unanimous (approved by 100%) or by consensus (no one actively objects), your attention should turn to managing would-be spoilers.