Negotiating Tip #63:
Living With Ambiguity
In the 1950s, a psychologist named J. P. Guilford devised a test for creativity. It was a way to gauge divergent thinking, the ability to imagine a multitude of possible approaches and solutions to a single problem. Divergent thinkers were spontaneous, persistent, and endlessly inquisitive. Unlike binary thinkers (on or off, my way or the highway), they were highly flexible. Unlike convergent thinkers, they were more intrigued by an abundance of nonlinear connections than by one correct answer.
Divergent thinking is the nub of creative negotiating. Negotiations exist precisely because there are many solutions, an array of possible agreements between buyers and sellers. Creative negotiators are able to keep contending ideas in tension without prematurely landing on either one.
It’s not entirely natural to think this way. Most people are uneasy with ambiguity because they equate it with danger. In situations where the two sides are in conflict, they push for certainty and closure, even if the outcome might not be so wonderful. They’re not thinking like negotiators.
But for those who can stay the two-sided course, who prevail in finding ways to reconcile opposing ideas, there’s a rich reward. It’s a clear-sighted vision of who you are, where you’re headed, and how you’re going to get there.