My friend Mary Latz (Latz Negotiation Institute) recently wrote a column entitled Negotiation Lessons from Politics based on a conversation he had with former senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and current senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) while waiting for a flight in Reagan National Airport. Since I’ve already shared Senator Kyl’s 10 Negotiation Lessons  based on his comments to my negotiation class, here are Senator Manchin’s suggestions to Marty.

• First build the relationships.
• Trust is crucial.
• Never put your colleagues in an embarrassing position. They need something out of it too.
• “Leave a little meat on the bone for the next dog”
• Agreements shouldn’t be too one-sided.
• Beware of personalities [and egos] messing up deals.
  • Sen. Manchin recalled a negotiation between the Teamsters and a company when he was governor and he was asked to help resolve an impasse. He said he immediately recognized that the contested issue – while relatively minor – had become a big problem because of two personalities in the room. Each had become personally vested in winning that issue – and neither would give the other side a win. What did Manchin do? He asked the two individuals at loggerheads to leave the room. The rest of the parties quickly resolved the issue.