The Law of Futurity says: The purpose of a negotiation is to enter into an agreement such that both parties have their needs satisfied and are motivated to fulfill their agreements and enter into further negotiations with the same party in the future.
This is a foundation law of negotiating and applies especially to negotiations where you will be dealing with the same party again. In business, it is quite common for people to be in and out of business transactions and negotiations with each other for many years. This fundamental futurity must be kept in mind at each stage of each negotiation.
Let’s break this law down into its constituent parts. First, “The purpose of a negotiation is to enter into an agreement….” It is assumed, but not always true, that both parties want to do business together. If one does not and is merely negotiating for some other purpose, the other party can be at a considerable disadvantage.
The second part says, “…such that both parties have their needs satisfied.” This means that an agreement where one or the other party feels that he or she has lost does not fulfill the basic requirement of a successful negotiation. [rquotes]Both must feel that they have come out ahead.[/rquotes]
This law then goes on to say, “…and are motivated to fulfill their agreements and enter into further negotiations with the same party in the future.”
This means that both parties are satisfied enough with the outcome that they are motivated to fulfill whatever commitments they have made and they feel positively enough about the deal reached that they are willing to negotiate again and enter into subsequent agreements in the future.
Your job in every negotiation where you will be dealing with this person again is to assure that the other party will want to continue doing business with you in the future.
How you can apply this law immediately:
- Analyze your current negotiating style. In what areas have you been more focused on “winning” in the short term without really considering the long term damage that you might be doing to the relationship?
- Look for ways to make the final agreement acceptable to the other party. Think of negotiating with this party again in the future based on the terms and conditions you are finalizing today. How could you improve the terms without sacrificing things that are important to you?
- "THE 100 ABSOLUTELY UNBREAKABLE LAWS OF BUSINESS SUCCESS" – Brian Tracy