September 25, 2014

VUSN lecturer shares keys to successful negotiations

Ron Shapiro, negotiator, sports agent, attorney, educator, author and civic leader, recently led a workshop titled “How to Negotiate so Everyone Wins, Especially You!” at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing.

Ron Shapiro, center, conducts a negotiation exercise with Tom Christenbery and Betsy Kennedy during Shapiro’s recent workshop at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing. (photo by Anne Rayner)

Ron Shapiro, negotiator, sports agent, attorney, educator, author and civic leader, recently led a workshop titled “How to Negotiate so Everyone Wins, Especially You!” at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing.

“Ron is a dynamic speaker and a master negotiator with exceptional real world experience who enlightened everyone in the audience — members from Vanderbilt’s divinity, business, education, medicine, and nursing schools and others — each left the session with a new approach to put in practice right away,” said Linda Norman, DSN, R.N., Valere Potter Menefee Professor and dean of VUSN, which hosted the event

While some know Shapiro as the sports agent for Baseball Hall of Famers such as Cal Ripken Jr., Jim Palmer, Brooks Robinson and more, he also founded the Shapiro Negotiations Institute, which has trained more than 350,000 professionals, and created the Butler Conference of Leaders, which annually assembles CEOs and other leaders to address economic and social issues.

He came to VUSN because of his relationship with Melanie Allison, DNP, a VUSN faculty member. While in her DNP program she participated in the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing’s Executive Mentorship Program, Shapiro was her mentor.

“Ron taught me that the best way to get what you want is to help the other side get what they want,” she said.

Shapiro’s key take-aways included thinking of creative solutions, doing more listening than talking to better understand the other person’s perspective and making deals that build relationships.

He shared his straightforward system for the negotiation process — preparation, probe and propose.

“We negotiate everything these days and we negotiate every day,” Shapiro said. “Regardless of your education, your job or your major, negotiation affects everyone.”

He also underscored that negotiations are a process, not a single event.

One of his key points for successful negotiations is to actually write out a script, have a trusted person critique the script and refine it before delivery.

Audience members were engaged throughout the workshop with games, role play and participation opportunities.