Past N-Conference events
Review Conference 2011
DEAL OR NO DEAL - The decisive three minutes of a negotiation
Why do so many negotiations fail during the last minutes? Is it because of critical mistakes during the final phase, or are the causes for failing generated much earlier? Matthias Schranner illustrated that conflicts do not arise suddenly, but are recognisable from early on. Professor Staub recommended that conflict-prone subjects be introduced into the negotiation at an early stage. The legendary murder investigator Josef Wilfling uncovered lies, Matthias Siegried gave insights into the world of UN negotiations, Dr. Hanning reported on how teams are managed, and Helga Hengge lead the audience to the top of Mount Everest with spectacular footage. There was agreement on all talks: The final phase is critical and must be prepared to perfection. Those who leave the result to chance will be punished with “NO DEAL”. All talks lead to one result: A difficult negotiation is an unavoidable conflict. Giving in too quickly and offering compromises are always negative. The conflict must be resolved step by step.
Review Conference 2010
Victory or defeat - the end of win-win.
Victory for everyone - is that even possible in a difficult negotiation? Isn't there always at least one loser? Trying to meet in the middle, for the much-quoted “compromise”, usually creates two losers. Christopher Schramm showed how negotiations with Somali pirates work. John Kornblum shared his experience with most difficult negotiations in the Yugoslavia conflict. Professor Bullinger built a bridge to business negotiations and illustrated the rules that apply to top business.
Impressions 2010
Review Conference 2009
Dead end - beginning or end of a negotiation. Is the negotiation over, or is it just starting?
This conference focused on a situation which looks desperate at first. Matthias Schranner shared his experience with desperate situations that he witnessed first-hand, and gave advice on how to master such situations. Professor Wambach illustrated scientific and practical standpoints - how to deliberately produce a deadlock and what advantages result from it. Dr. Borer-Fielding and the former German minister of the interior, Otto Schily, illustrated the “dead-end in negotiations” topic from a political perspective. They showed how complex negotiations must be controlled and which methods still work once you find yourself in a deadlock. And the highlight of the conference - Bertrand Piccard, who managed the first circumnavigation of the Earth in a balloon. His mission constantly was about to fold. Bertrand Piccard spoke about motivation and how to find new ways where there seem to be none.
Review Conference 2008
Power in negotiation - when the opponent has the power.
Gain of power, loss of power, misuse of power, lack of power, taking and losing influence were the topics of our 2nd Negotiation Conference in 2008. Professor Scholl showed us a scientific approach to power: What is power and what difference is there between exerting power and taking influence in leadership tasks. Werner Bayreuther, the railroad’s lead negotiator in the GDL collective bargaining dispute, talked about negotiations with representatives from the labour side and with unions. And Professor Teltschik spoke about negotiations regarding the reunification of Germany. The power expert Ms. Christine Bauer-Jelinek gave insight into the “arsenal of the German language” and showed the secret game rules of power.
Review Conference 2007
Negotiating under pressure - when losing is not an option.
“Stand-by stress” is the period during the negotiation when the pressure is highest. This is where people will find out who you really are. How you deal with pressure, stress, and emotions in the difficult negotiation phase and what you can do when there seems to be no solution on the horizon. That was the topic of our first Negotiation Conference in 2007. Expert negotiators, such as Professor Salewski, the neurologist Professor Roth, and the FIFA referee Dr. Markus Merk gave impressive presentations to describe their difficult negotiation situations and how they solved them.