The North Wind and the Sun could not agree between themselves as to which one of them is stronger when they spotted a person who was travelling on the road wearing a heavy coat. They decided to settle the dispute by seeing which one of them can make the traveler remove his coat.
The North Wind blew cold air at the traveler who hung to the coat with all his strength. The colder and more powerful the wind was blowing, the harder he held his coat. After repeatedly trying without success, the North Wind gave up and let the Sun try to make the traveler remove his coat.
The Sun started to send warm beams of sunlight, and progressively increased the intensity of the beams. As the beams became warmer, so did the traveler who began to loosen his coat and eventually remove it. When the beams became hotter the traveler looked for the shade of a tree and sat under it.
The moral of the story is that at times being considerate of the needs of the other side, and taking a softer position, can yield better results than being adversarial and taking a hard position.
Negotiations are a very complicated process as they involve different personalities, may take long to conclude, may have divergent needs and at times, they may not always reach a mutually acceptable conclusion. However, if both sides try to walk in the shoes of the opposite side, it increases the likelihood that the negotiations will reach a successful outcome for all parties.
sful outcome for all parties.
