Don't Negotiate Blind
Intelligence-led dispute resolution.
Most dispute-resolution firms start with the dispute.
We start with the people behind it.
Traditional ADR waits until the parties arrive at the table, listens to both sides and attempts to find common ground. Black Swan takes a fundamentally different approach.
Before we negotiate with you, we want to understand you.
INTELLIGENCE / INSIGHT / STRATEGY / LEVERAGE / NEGOTIATION / RESOLUTION
Intelligence Before Engagement
We don’t believe serious negotiations should begin with two parties walking into a room knowing little more than their respective versions of the dispute.
That’s negotiation with one eye closed.
Our first move is intelligence.
Using our intelligence capabilities, including appropriate HUMINT and other lawful intelligence-gathering methods, we build a real-time intelligence picture around the dispute.
We examine the individuals, organisations, relationships, commercial realities, decision-makers, competing interests and external pressures capable of influencing the outcome.
We are looking for the information that changes the strategy.
The things everyone knows rarely change a negotiation.
The things they don't know can.
We Don't Just Ask What They Want
We ask why they haven’t moved.
Every entrenched position exists for a reason. Our job is to understand it.
Sometimes the obstacle is financial. Sometimes commercial. Sometimes reputational. Sometimes personal.
Sometimes the person sitting at the table isn’t actually the person controlling the decision. And sometimes the stated dispute isn’t the real dispute at all.
Until you understand those dynamics, you aren’t developing a negotiation strategy.
You’re guessing.
Black Swan removes as much of that guesswork as possible before meaningful negotiations begin.
Intelligence Creates Strategy
Once we understand the landscape, we determine how the dispute can potentially be moved.
We identify the real decision-makers. We analyse their motivations. We understand the pressures surrounding them.
We identify legitimate commercial, procedural, reputational or strategic leverage that may encourage engagement. And we determine where interests intersect sufficiently to create the foundations of a deal.
Then we negotiate.
Not from assumptions. From intelligence.
We Don't Simply Bring People to the Table
We work to change what happens when they get there.
There is little value in putting two entrenched parties into a room if neither has a reason to move.
Our objective is to understand what could create movement before the meeting takes place.
By the time negotiations commence, we want to understand the personalities, pressures, interests and potential pressure points surrounding the dispute.
That allows us to move quickly towards the question that ultimately matters:
What will it actually take to get this resolved?
ADR Manages the Conversation
Black Swan changes the equation.
Traditional ADR commonly follows:
Dispute – Mediation – Compromise
Black Swan operates differently:
Intelligence – Insight – Strategy – Leverage – Negotiation – Resolution
We are not mediators carrying messages between two rooms. We are not lawyers preparing for another legal battle. And we are not interested in allowing disputes to become industries in their own right.
We are intelligence-led negotiators focused on finding the fastest credible route to resolution.
Know Before You Negotiate
The Black Swan principle is simple:
Never negotiate with someone you haven’t taken the time to understand.
Know who they are. Know who influences them. Know what they want. Know what they need. Know what pressures they are facing. Know where they can move. And know what could make them want to.
Then negotiate.
Because the most important advantage in a negotiation isn’t always the strongest argument.
Sometimes it's knowing something the other side doesn't realise you know
Intelligence changes negotiations.
Negotiations change outcomes.