Leadership, Negotiations, and Communications Training

Negotiations are a tough topic on their own; however, as more and more communication moves online, the negotiations landscape becomes more complex.  In this virtual training, we will explore the basics of negotiations, and then compare traditional person-to-person negotiations to the more direct yet more delicate process of negotiating entirely via email.  To end the seminar, we will discuss how to apply these techniques in the Government contracting space.

Topics Include:

• Traditional Negotiation Strategies
• Why Negotiation Strategies Work
• Translating Negotiation Strategies to Email
• Email Negotiation Hazards & Helps
• Using Digital Negotiation in Government Contracting

Instructor: Tom Reid, Certified Contract Solutions

Have you considered what kind of leader you want to be? Whether you view leadership as “bossing others around” or “inspiring the best in your team,” it’s worth reflecting on your personal leadership journey and how you can maximize your potential. PCI is offering a free 90-minute leadership development session on Thursday, December 12, to help you begin that journey!

Despite the abundance of leadership resources, many top leaders still lack effective government leadership training qualities. This session, based on the book Sustained Leadership WBS, and taught by the author, offers a structured approach to help you become the best version of yourself and develop the traits, skills, and qualities that will prepare you to lead – both yourself and others.

This introductory class will give you an overview of the lifelong leadership journey ahead and remove the excuses holding you back from succeeding as a leader.

A fast-paced introduction to clear, precise, and persuasive professional contract writing! Unlock the secrets of crafting your contracts, claims, requests for equitable adjustments, protests and other supporting documents for compliance and influence. Dive into a half-day survey that explores the art of drafting clear contracts, and persuasive supporting documents in government contracting. Your primary mission is to use your writing to bring business certainty to the transaction. Muddled writing works against that primary purpose.

What you will learn:

1. Elevate your writing skills to create impactful documentation for successful business outcomes. 2. Gain the confidence to navigate complex negotiations with persuasion. 3. Understand the nuances of word choice, grammar, and persuasive techniques. 4. Improve your professional writing skills and stand out in the competitive world of clear and persuasive government contract documentation. 5. Craft contracts that meet legal standards and also resonate with insight and clarity to ensure compliance and program success.

If you are a professional seeking to elevate your writing skills, join us to uncover the secrets of compelling business writing and harness the power to influence with every contract and document you produce. This class is not just for contractors, but all professionals (Government, non-profit, industry , etc.) seeking to vastly improve their writing skills.

“Muddled writing reflects muddled thinking. Communicating clearly and effectively is always a key skill of the contracting professional seeking sustained leadership.” – Tom Reid, author of Sustained Leadership WBS.

Anyone who has negotiated terms and conditions for a Government subcontract knows that it is a challenging process. The negotiation of terms and conditions is different with every transaction, and requires the negotiator to build a library of knowledge to navigate this complex territory. The first two steps in building this library are to understand what is at stake in each case and to know what your negotiating limits are before beginning the process.

This new PCI program, “Negotiating Terms and Conditions,” will take a critical look at the terms and conditions that one can expect to be negotiated, why they are important, how they are affected by flowdown requirements, and what you can expect the issues to be. There is no perfect clause, and every transaction stands on its own, but this program will enable you to gain the knowledge and confidence you will need to protect your organization.

Covered Clauses:
– Payment
– Acceptance of Supplies or Services
– Limitation of Liability
– Changes
– Force Majeure
– Governing Law
– Key Personnel
– Liquidated Dam

Instructor: Philip Lee, McCarter & English

This course is divided into two parts. The first part is designed to provide attendees with a thorough understanding of the qualities of an effective negotiator, with examples rooted in the government contracting process. The second part focuses on the negotiation process itself—the preparation stage, the actual negotiation, and the techniques for ensuring that the deal is closed once and closed correctly. Class discussion and case studies underscore the importance of the principles covered in the lecture.

• Recognize the traits that make an effective negotiator
• Apply the principles taught in the program to your own negotiations
• Determine effective negotiation practices
• Identify different agenda approaches that can be used to meet your goals
• Recognize and defeat strategies being used against you
• Analyze the human element of a negotiation, often the most important element

Learn more and Register

Whether your task today is to craft a contract, claim, requests for equitable adjustments, protest, decision memo, source selection statement or any other contracting file documentation, this class will provide you with tools for clarity, persuasion, and comprehension.  In each of the six two-hour sessions, we will dive into a review and discussion that explores the art of drafting clear contracts, and persuasive supporting documents in government contracting. Your primary mission is to use your writing to bring business certainty to the transaction. Muddled writing works against that primary purpose, can result in excusable delays, jeopardize success in protests and claims, and generally mess up an otherwise good day. Clear writers are clear thinkers.

Instructor: Tom Reid, Certified Contracting Solutions

Course content includes:

1. Rules of grammar are not as static as you might think, yet adhering to grammatical standards often makes clear the message that was intended.
2. Government contracting, like any profession, has its own jargon and is famous for its extreme use of acronyms. Both of these can lead to confusion and misunderstanding unless you craft your sentences and word choice for maximum clarity.
3. Many documents are designed to persuade, whether that is a protest or claim response, a request for a decision, or a source selection statement. Tools of persuasion will be addressed and practiced.
4. Very little is worse than inheriting a file from another that does not clearly explain what has happened so far in the contract life-cycle. Certain documents are required by the regulations while others are important for continuity in administration. Maintaining clear and contemporaneous file documentation and consistency will be emphasized.
5. While also helping in the areas of persuasion, data must often be gathered and presented in a comprehensible way. Writing with confidence, reliance on sources, and accommodating those times when an ambiguity must be resolved mandate specific styles and content.
6. Crafting contracts and their associated statements of work is both an art and a science. Merely filling in a checklist of what such documents “should” contain will not necessarily meet legal standards and resonate with insight and clarity to ensure compliance and program success.
7. Understanding your audience, whether it is the other party to your contract, an auditor, GAO or Board, or an unfriendly press, compels you to write clearly without talking down to your readers. The art and style of addressing a variety of audiences will be presented and reviewed.

If you are a professional seeking to elevate your writing skills, join us to uncover the secrets of compelling business writing and harness the power to influence with every contract and document you produce.

May 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, June 5, 2024
All Sessions 10:00am-11:30am ET

1. May 1: Using Grammar for Clarity (Recorded) – Elevate your writing skills to create impactful documentation for successful business outcomes.
2. May 8: Understanding your Audience by Using the Language of the Profession (Recorded) – Appreciate the nuances of word choice, grammar, and persuasive techniques. The art and style of addressing a variety of audiences will be presented and reviewed.
3. May 15: Persuading the Unconvinced – Using the tools of persuasion to negotiate, obtain approvals, and address audit findings. Gain the confidence to navigate complex negotiations with persuasion.
4. May 22: Preserving the Record – Create file documentation that is contemporaneous, correct, and complete. Improve your professional writing skills and stand out in the competitive world of clear and persuasive government contract documentation.
5. May 29: Presenting Data that is Understandable, Reliable, and Repeatable – While also helping in the areas of persuasion, data must often be gathered and presented in a comprehensible way. Write with confidence and understanding of the facts.
6. June 5: Crafting Contracts for Clarity and Compliance – Draft contracts that meet legal standards and also resonate with insight and clarity to ensure compliance and program success.

BATNA stands for “Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement”. It represents the best course of action you could take if the current negotiation fails. A strong BATNA provides a safety net and empowers you to walk away from an unfavorable deal. Knowing your BATNA allows you to negotiate with more confidence and leverage, as you understand your alternatives. It helps you set realistic expectations and avoid accepting an agreement that is worse than your best alternative.

The Golden Rule, “treat others as you would want them to treat you,” serves as a fundamental ethical guideline in any interaction, including contract negotiations. Applying this principle fosters trust, respect, and fairness. By treating negotiating partners with the same consideration you expect, you create a more positive and collaborative environment. Ethical conduct contributes to sustainable relationships and increases the likelihood of reaching mutually beneficial agreements.

A high-quality contract is a contract that:

• Represents a reasonable apportionment of risk
• Matches the requirements to the financial arrangement
• Includes clauses representing applicable laws and regulations
• Includes a delivery/performance schedule that is reasonable for the desired goods or services
• Includes a profit that is reasonable for work to be performed and reflects current economic conditions
• Is devoid of ambiguities
• Includes and omits what it should
• Maintains internal consistency amidst modifications

1. Increased likelihood that the required goods and services will be successfully acquired
2. Thorough negotiations reduce the number and complexity of problems during contract performance

• Not understanding the other party’s interests. It is important to understand the other party’s needs and goals in order to negotiate a contract that meets everyone’s requirements.
• Bargaining over positions instead of interests. When you focus on positions, you are more likely to get stuck in a win-lose situation. Instead, focus on the underlying interests of both parties. This will help you to find creative solutions that meet everyone’s needs.
• Not being prepared to walk away. You should always be prepared to walk away from a negotiation if you are not able to reach an agreement that is acceptable to you.

• Be prepared. Before you start negotiating, make sure you understand your own interests and the other party’s interests. You should also have a clear idea of what you are willing to concede and what you are not.
• Communicate effectively. Clear and concise communication is essential for successful negotiations. Be sure to listen carefully to the other party and ask clarifying questions.
• Be creative. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box and come up with creative solutions that meet everyone’s needs.
• Be patient. Contract negotiations can take time. Be patient and persistent, and don’t give up easily.
• Be ethical. Always conduct yourself in an ethical manner during negotiations. This will help to build trust and rapport with the other party.
• Develop good communication skills: asking questions, using stories, active listening, being a clear thinker, and keeping communication simple and direct will help in this process.
• Building the relationship is STILL critical to successful negotiations; online is no different.

Here are some ways to avoid ambiguity in contracts:

• Use precise and unambiguous language. Define key terms clearly at the beginning of the contract and avoid using jargon or terms that can be misunderstood. When defining terms, only define terms you intend to use, and do not use defined terms in different ways from how you defined them. For example, don’t use “party of the first part” and “party of the second part.” Instead, designate the parties as defined terms such as “Buyer” and “Seller”, or “Government” and “Contractor”, and use those terms consistently throughout the document.
• Clearly outline the duties and responsibilities of each party, including what, when, and how tasks should be performed. Use detailed descriptions and deadlines.
• Ensure that all terms and conditions are realistic, practical, and achievable. Consult with relevant experts to validate feasibility.
• Stay informed about applicable laws and regulations. Include compliance clauses that mandate adherence to all relevant legal requirements.
• Create a glossary of defined terms to ensure consistency.
• Consider all potential audience members when drafting contracts .
• Pay attention to “substantially as follows” and “is suggested” language.
• Avoid using antiquated conventions like writing out numbers and words.
• Ensure your contracts are readable by keeping sentence length to 20-25 words, paragraph length to 5-6 sentences, and passive voice below 5-10%. You can use the Flesch-Kincaid score to make sure the reading level is appropriate for your audience.
• Proofread carefully for typos and other errors.

A high-quality contract should be devoid of ambiguities and should include and omit what it should. Sloppy drafting can lead to ambiguities and conflicts, which can complicate dispute resolution and prolong litigation.

While ambiguity is usually unintentional, in some circumstances, those drafting contracts may want to introduce ambiguities on purpose. For example, climate change agreements may need to be worded ambiguously so that different countries with varying interests will sign the agreements.