Beyond Getting the Deal: Leadership of Negotiated Resolution and Implications of Corresponding Raison d'Être at Today's Complex Transition • Arriving at a good deal is desirable even indispensable virtually across negotiation contexts, but such matters profoundly at today's crossroads once substantiated by forward-looking balance on the premise of stability and flexibility, therefore reciprocal contingencies and corresponding uniting forces from representative assumptions from leadership of the negotiation process; • Substantive to that ambition, negotiation premises and the underlying deliberation processes must be rigorously structured, discussed and agreed upon by partners, stakeholders and representatives at the table, particularly in representation of gravity and motion that effectively command leadership attention to the status quo, considering hard realities on the ground and potential forward-looking narrative at the transition on the premise of shared reconciliation principles and mechanisms with all as respectable peers; • Mutually reinforcing resolution within but also across the aisles is essential even pivotal along the negotiation pathways, notably considering continuously exchangeable push-and-pull gravity caused by policy-diplomacy complex, all in constant interaction with convergence-divergence forces driven by political interests, ideologies even polarities, therefore an imperative to honoring well-deserved forward-looking expectation with transparency and accountability to the floor, undoubtedly in reflection of negotiation dynamics and, all the more, with hard-earned progress achieved by representative leadership at the table; • Prospect of the best alternative1 to a negotiated agreement (“BATNA”), on the other hand, offers an effective conciliatory approach, markedly with meaningful and constructive appeal applicable to resolving disagreement, conflict even confrontation among direct and indirect negotiating parties and, as a result, considered as a strategic governance tool with effective mitigating impact conducive to injecting new momentum to the negotiation process,² especially in application of observable parameters or proxy intermediaries that altogether serve as conducive confidence-building mechanisms, but also in substantiation of the entire negotiation process with leadership from all; • Pivot of the negotiated agreement shall after all become meaningful and forward-looking at today's global transition, once leadership from all relevant parties shares gravity and urgency of the aggravating situation as premises of the negotiation process,³ and thereby seeking to restore reciprocal goodwill from the well-deserved reconciliation, while also charting forward meaningful outlook to the society at large—outstandingly with mutually reinforcing raison d'être that commands dignity and pride on behalf.

1. Bangkok, Thailand / Page 1 (2) Edition: May 10, 2022
Beyond Getting the Deal
Leadership of Negotiated Resolution and Implications of Corresponding
Raison d'Être at Today's Complex Transition
Siripong Treetasanatavorn
Sloan Fellow, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Leadership Narrative:
• Arriving at a good deal is desirable even indispensable virtually across
negotiation contexts, but such matters profoundly at today's crossroads once
substantiated by forward-looking balance on the premise of stability and
flexibility, therefore reciprocal contingencies and corresponding uniting forces
from representative assumptions from leadership of the negotiation process;
• Substantive to that ambition, negotiation premises and the underlying
deliberation processes must be rigorously structured, discussed and agreed
upon by partners, stakeholders and representatives at the table, particularly
in representation of gravity and motion that effectively command leadership
attention to the status quo, considering hard realities on the ground and
potential forward-looking narrative at the transition on the premise of shared
reconciliation principles and mechanisms with all as respectable peers;
• Mutually reinforcing resolution within but also across the aisles is essential
even pivotal along the negotiation pathways, notably considering continuously
exchangeable push-and-pull gravity caused by policy-diplomacy complex, all
in constant interaction with convergence-divergence forces driven by political
interests, ideologies even polarities, therefore an imperative to honoring well-
deserved forward-looking expectation with transparency and accountability to
the floor, undoubtedly in reflection of negotiation dynamics and, all the more,
with hard-earned progress achieved by representative leadership at the table;
• Prospect of the best alternative1
to a negotiated agreement (“BATNA”),
on the other hand, offers an effective conciliatory approach, markedly with
meaningful and constructive appeal applicable to resolving disagreement,
conflict even confrontation among direct and indirect negotiating parties and,
as a result, considered as a strategic governance tool with effective mitigating
impact conducive to injecting new momentum to the negotiation process,²
especially in application of observable parameters or proxy intermediaries
that altogether serve as conducive confidence-building mechanisms, but also
in substantiation of the entire negotiation process with leadership from all;
• Pivot of the negotiated agreement shall after all become meaningful and
forward-looking at today's global transition, once leadership from all relevant
parties shares gravity and urgency of the aggravating situation as premises of
the negotiation process,³ and thereby seeking to restore reciprocal goodwill
from the well-deserved reconciliation, while also charting forward meaningful
outlook to the society at large—outstandingly with mutually reinforcing raison
d'être that commands dignity and pride on behalf of all who were left behind.

2. S. Treetasanatavorn. Beyond Getting the Deal
Edition: May 10, 2022 Bangkok, Thailand / Page 2 (2)
References (in appearance order):
1. See discussion of the Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA) from
Roger Fisher and William Ury (1981): https://www.williamury.com/books/getting-to-
yes/
2. See greater context in diplomatic sense as argued by Federica Mogherini, Former EU
High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy at the Chatham House
(2015):https://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/default/files/field/field_document/201502
24RespondingtoForeignAffairsandSecurityChallengesintheEU.pdf
3. See this discussion in climate negotiation context led by Columbia Climate School at
COP26 (2021): https://www.earth.columbia.edu/videos/view/the-columbia-climate-
school-at-cop26-turning-ambition-into-action