7 böcker för att förbättra dina förhandlingsfärdigheter
Inledning
Att förhandla är en färdighet som kommer lättare för vissa människor men kan verka svår för andra. Att lära sig hur man förhandlar kan öppna många dörrar av möjligheter och göra dig överlag mer lycklig och framgångsrik i livet. Ett sätt att börja lära sig hur man förhandlar är att fördjupa sig i några av de bästa böckerna om ämnet skrivna av experter. För att visa ett sätt att börja lära sig eller förbättra sina förhandlingstekniker presenterar denna artikel en lista med 7 böcker för att förbättra dina förhandlingstekniker, åtföljd av en kort sammanfattning av varje bok.
Fortsätt läsa artikeln för att få veta mer och kick-starta din resa i att lära dig förhandla eller fortsätta finslipa dina förhandlingstekniker. På AMST Legal hjälper vi företag att förhandla bättre, förhandla affärsavtal, kontrakt och lösa tvister.
Böcker vi rekommenderar
Det finns flertal böcker om att förhandla på marknaden vilket gör det svårt att veta var man ska börja. För att förenkla det har vi sammanställt en lista med 7 böcker för att förbättra dina förhandlingsfärdigheter. Böckerna hanterar olika aspekter av att förhandla som beskrivs nedan.
1. Getting to yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In
(flera versioner finns, senaste är från 2011) av Roger Fisher, William Ury & Bruce Patton
Utgångspunkten för det nya och förbättrade sättet att förhandlade började vid förhandlingsprogrammet på Harvard Law School. Boken syftar till att identifiera en metod för att nå bra överenskommelser, dvs principstyrda förhandlingar eller intressebaserade förhandlingar. Metoden är indelad i fyra delar som är relevanta under hela förhandlingsprocessen.
Metodens fyra delar är följande:
- Separera människorna från problemet,
- Fokusera på intressen snarare än positioner,
- Generera en mängd olika alternativ innan man enas om en överenskommelse, och
- Insistera på att överenskommelsen baseras på objektiva kriterier.
Boken är utmärkt för att lära dig grunderna för att bli en bättre förhandlare.
2. Never Split the Difference – Negotiating as if your life depended on it
(2016) av Chris Voss and Tahl Raz
I Voss och Raz bidrag till en annan bok som lär ut förhandlingstekniker är målet också grundläggande förhandling. Innehållet härrör från Voss erfarenhet som gisslandförhandlare inom FBI, vilket är anledningen till att tipsen är baserade utifrån sådana situationer. Tipsen kan dock tillämpas generellt när man lär sig eller förbättrar sina förhandlingstekniker för andra ändamål.
Bokens huvudpunkter är följande:
- Lär från historien,
- Prioritera aktivt lyssnande,
- Visa empati och förståelse,
- Det stärkande ordet ”nej”,
- Kraften i formuleringen ”det stämmer”,
- Avslöja dolda behov genom icke-linjära förhandlingar,
- Ställ kalibrerande frågor,
- Förstå motpartens förhandlingsstil och hur man kategoriserar dem, och
- Omfamna det okända.
3. Good for you, Great for me: Finding the Trading Zone and Winning at Win-Win Negotiation
(2014) av Lawrence Susskind
Som Fisher och Ury argumenterar i sin banbrytande bok (Getting to Yes), går Susskind ett steg längre och fokuserar på så kallad ”win-win”-förhandling. Det syftar på hur de flesta förhandlingar utspelar sig, som ett sätt att nå en överenskommelse baserad på att hitta det mest fördelaktiga resultatet för båda parter. Susskinds bok syftar till att visa hur man kan bli vinnaren i win-win-förhandlingar, eftersom resultatet kan bli bättre än bra, vilket är målet med win-win-förhandlingar.
4. Getting to yes with yourself: How to Get What You Truly Want
(2016) av William Ury
Förhandlande är inte bara ett fenomen som uppstår i affärsförhandlingar mellan män i fina kostymer. Det kan lika gärna äga rum och vara av betydelse var som helst och för alla i deras dagliga liv när de interagerar med andra människor. Ury försöker förklara hur man förhandlar i olika sammanhang genom att fokusera på dig och dina handlingar, vilket kan vara det som saboterar goda resultat från förhandlingar i ditt dagliga liv. Hans mål är att undvika sådana fallgropar och säkerställa din framgång i livet.
5. Harvard Business Review (HBR) Guide to Negotiating
(2016) av Jeff Wess
Fortsättningsvis presenterar Weiss fler tips för att förhandla framgångsrikt samtidigt som relationen med den andra parten upprätthålls i alla situationer i ditt dagliga liv, oavsett situationen och den andra parten. Weiss pekar ut åtta områden som du kommer att få mer djupgående kunskap om och förbättra dina färdigheter om du gör följande:
- Identifierar de verkliga frågorna som står på spel,
- Förbereder material i förväg,
- Sätter rätt ton i början av samtalet,
- Hanterar känslor när du förhandlar,
- Tämjer en skicklig motpart,
- Vet när du ska avsluta,
- Hanterar förhandlingar mellan flera parter, och
- Säkerställer att ditt avtal är verklighetsförankrat.
6. Sign here: The enterprise guide to closing contracts quickly
(2021) av Alex Hamilton
När ditt mål är specifikt affärsrelaterat kan Hamiltons bok vara mer lämplig eftersom dess fokus ligger på den kommersiella kontraktsprocessen i samband med tekniska lösningar. Några insikter som du kan få mer djupgående kunskap om inkluderar:
- Vikten av tempo i kontraktsprocesser,
- Att det inte finns någon universallösning som passar för varje problem,
- Att förändringar tar tid,
- Hur du sätter tydliga och rimliga villkor, och
- Hur du ska prioritera.
Bokens grund kommer från Hamiltons praktiska erfarenhet inom området, vilket är varför den är utformad som en praktisk guide.
7. Contract Law – Text, Cases and Materials
(2014) by Ewan McKendrick
Sist men inte minst har vi McKendricks bok ”Contract Law” som i och för sig inte ger praktiska förhandlingstips. I stället täcker den relevanta juridiska insikter om t.e.x oskälig styrka mellan parterna. Sådana avtalsrättsliga regler är bra att känna till både för företag och privatpersoner, om du eller den andra parten kan anses vara starkare eller svagare. Om så är fallet finns det skyddande lagregler för att justera ojämlikheten i förhandlingsförhållandet.
Slutsats
Som presenterats i den här artikeln finns det olika typer av böcker om att förhandla som täcker olika områden. Detta utgör alltså bara en introduktion av vad som kan vara till hjälp när du lär dig eller förbättrar dina förhandlingsfärdigheter. Förhoppningsvis kan detta vara till nytta vid överväganden om val av bokinköp för att omfamna den effektiva och viktiga färdigheten att förhandla.
Om du behöver rådgivning, träning eller djupgående praktisk kunskap från en riktig förhandlingsexpert och avtalsrättsrådgivare, kontakta oss på AMST Legal.
Källor:
https://www.pon.harvard.edu/shop/good-for-you-great-for-me
https://lifeclub.org/books/getting-to-yes-with-yourself-william-ury-review-summary
https://www.vantagepartners.com/insights/hbr-guide-to-negotiating
https://www.lovelawrobots.com/five-things-i-wish-i-learnt-from-sign-here-by-alex-hamilton
https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action?language=en
https://calvinrosser.com/notes/start-with-why-simon-sinek
https://readingraphics.com/book-summary-never-split-the-difference
How to Close Contracts Successfully Before Holiday Periods
As we approach the end of Q2, it’s essential for Sales, Procurement, and Legal teams to focus on closing commercial contracts. Imagine this scenario: you’re in the final days of Q2 – almost holidays, and a critical contract worth millions hangs in the balance. The pressure is immense, and every second counts.
To help your teams manage the hectic time before summer holidays effectively, we have laid the groundwork for smoother and better legal processes. Next to great preparation, during the last week we emphasize the importance of maintaining clear communication to ensure your contracts are signed before the end of Q2.
Clear Communication: The Key to Closing Contracts
Transparent and open communication with your customers and internal teams is crucial. Confirm the timing and process needs, address any concerns, and emphasize the urgency of reaching a final agreement. Here’s how you can achieve this:
Actionable Steps:
- Collaborate Closely with Internal Teams: Streamline the contract process by working together. Set daily meetings with clear goals to monitor progress.
- Open and Transparent Communication: Confirm timing and process needs with all stakeholders. Address any concerns promptly and reiterate the urgency of closing the deal.
- Proactive Risk Management: If a deal seems to be slipping into the next quarter, inform both internal and external teams immediately to manage expectations and risks.
Effective communication ensures that everyone is on the same page and working towards a common goal, reducing the chances of misunderstandings and delays. Here are three additional tips to complement clear communication and help you close your Q2 contracts successfully:
1. Prioritize Strategically
Focus on high-volume and strategic deals that are close to closure and must be finalized by the end of the month. Assess each contract’s likelihood of closing within the next week. If a deal seems unlikely to close by the deadline, consider pausing it and picking it up again in Q3.
Key Questions to Ask:
- Is this contract closing next week?
- Should we pause this deal and resume in Q3?
- Are we working on the right deals based on the company’s and Sales department’s top priorities?
By prioritizing strategically, you can ensure that your efforts are directed towards deals that are most critical to your organization’s success.
2. Encourage Team Collaboration
Cross-functional teamwork is essential to overcome last-minute hurdles. Management, sales, legal, and procurement teams must work together seamlessly to resolve any issues that arise.
Best Practices:
- Avoid working solo on complicated deals.
- Collaborate with both internal and external teams for maximum efficiency and alignment.
- Leverage the strengths of each team member to tackle obstacles and escalate matters when necessary.
By promoting collaboration, you can address challenges more effectively and ensure that all team members are aligned towards the goal of closing deals.
3. Manage Deadlines Meticulously
Keep a close eye on deadlines and review the full list of contracts to be signed, along with their requirements (timing, documents, approvals, etc.). Plan ahead to leave room for any errors.
Proactive Measures:
- Monitor critical dates and ensure all necessary signatures and documents are obtained in time.
- Plan a few days ahead to mitigate the risk of missing important deadlines.
- Keep track of all contract requirements to avoid costly mistakes.
Deadline management is crucial to ensure that no critical steps are missed in the final week of the quarter, enabling you to close deals successfully.
Conclusion
Closing deals in the final week of Q2 requires focus, prioritization, clear communication, and teamwork. By following these tips, you can navigate this busy period more effectively and finish the quarter strong.
If you need support managing your contract negotiations, please contact us at AMST Legal.
Unlock Contract Efficiency with a Simple Audit of Your Templates
Introduction
Companies often wonder why they should regularly audit their contract templates. This practice, which we implement regularly, often reveals a goldmine of opportunities for streamlining and improving efficiency of contract flows.
When a client approached us to improve its template customer contract, our first step was to conduct a thorough audit of all the contract templates in use. For instance, in one case, we were able to merge 12 separate templates into a single, standardized template applicable across all countries. In other cases, we’ve found multiple templates for different products or specific templates for government-funded versus non-subsidized projects. These findings underscore a crucial step: before improving your templates, it’s essential to first inventory what templates are in use. Only then can you effectively create or refine your templates for maximum efficiency.
1. The Necessity of Regular Contract Template Audits
Contract templates form the foundation of your business agreements, defining the terms and conditions of your relationships with customers, vendors, and partners. Over time, without regular oversight, these templates will (i) be amended in the organisation – often new templates emerge – without knowledge of management and Legal and (ii) be incomplete due to change in laws and products sold, leading to inconsistencies and legal vulnerabilities. A regular audit helps you:
- Risk mitigation and compliance updates
- Maintaining legal efficiency
- Identifying and eliminating redundancies
- Ensuring consistency across all agreements
- Enhancing negotiation speed and effectiveness
- Reducing legal disputes and misunderstandings
- Standardizing terms and conditions
- Keeping templates up-to-date with current laws and regulations
- Uncovering unauthorized or outdated templates
- Improving overall business relationships through clear and fair agreements
2. Steps to Conduct an Effective Contract Template Inventory
a. Gather Information from All Departments
Your legal department might not be aware of every template in use. Engage with various business units—such as Sales, Partnerships, Procurement, and HR—to gather a comprehensive list. Ask them to provide the exact templates they use daily to ensure accuracy.
b. Categorize Templates
Once collected, categorize the templates by:
- Type of Agreement: Customer, vendor, or partner agreements.
- Product/Service: Specific templates for different offerings.
- Geography: Templates used in different countries or regions.
- Language: Versions in different languages.
- Department: Templates specific to various business units.
- Special Conditions: Templates for specific situations, like government-funded projects versus non-subsidized ones.
c. Evaluate and Standardize
Review each template to identify discrepancies and outdated clauses. Standardize the language and format to ensure consistency across all agreements. This process not only reduces errors but also improves the clarity and enforceability of your contracts.
3. Addressing Common Issues in Customer, Vendor, and Partner Agreements
a. Customer Agreements
- Scope of Services: Ensure a clear description of the services or products provided.
- Payment Terms: Standardize payment schedules and terms.
- Liability Clauses: Update liability and warranty clauses to reflect current business practices and legal standards.
b. Vendor/Procurement Contracts
- Quality and Delivery Terms: Standardize terms related to quality control and delivery schedules.
- Compliance: Ensure all vendor contracts comply with relevant laws and regulations.
- Payment Terms: Regularize payment structures and terms to avoid discrepancies.
c. Partner Agreements
- Roles and Responsibilities: Clearly define the roles and responsibilities of each party.
- Profit Sharing: Standardize profit-sharing mechanisms.
- Exit Strategies: Include clear exit strategies to handle potential dissolution scenarios.
4. Uncovering Unauthorized Templates
During your audit, it’s not uncommon to discover templates in use that the legal or management teams were unaware of. These unauthorized templates, often created without prior approval, can pose significant risks. Identifying and rectifying these situations is crucial to maintaining legal and operational integrity. Ensure that all templates are vetted and approved to align with your company’s standards and legal requirements.
5. Benefits of a Well-Organized Contract Template Inventory
Maintaining an organized inventory of your contract templates offers several benefits:
- Improved Negotiation Speed: With standardized templates, negotiations become quicker and more efficient.
- Reduced Legal Risks: Consistent templates minimize the risk of legal disputes.
- Enhanced Business Relationships: Clear and fair agreements foster stronger business relationships.
Conclusion
Regularly auditing and organizing your contract templates is a crucial step in enhancing your business’s legal efficiency. By taking the time to inventory, evaluate, and standardize your agreements, you can streamline your processes, reduce risks, and build stronger, more transparent business relationships.
For more detailed insights and personalized advice, feel free to contact us or schedule a consultation.
5 Tips How to Get Contracts Signed Faster
Introduction – Why Does It Take So Long To Get Contracts Signed?
The steps from negotiating a contract to signing takes time because of compromises that need to be reached between parties. In B2B negotiations, this is usually also caused by processes that are in place to negotiate and handle contracts. This is why it is so important to implement new processes and make better templates to sign contracts faster in your company.
5 Tips to Get Contracts Signed Faster
After 20 years of experience in this field, I have noticed that the same 5 things will help speed up the contract process from the negotiation stage to the signing stage. Working with many of the Big Tech companies like NVIDIA, Microsoft, Tesla, Google etc., I have learned that they all use the same approach.
It takes a lot of effort to improve contract processes, but we have summarized it in a list of five rules to follow. We have implemented this approach in many companies, and it always works. These steps will make contract processes more enjoyable and efficient.
Hereby our five recommended steps to take to get your contracts signed at least 50 % faster.
1. Work towards the 80/20 Rule of Contract Negotiation
The first rule is the 80/20 Rule which is a guideline for how legal departments should allocate their time and resources when dealing with contracts. Simply said, it means that you train your team to ensure that 80% of your contracts follows the standard template, meaning that only 20% of your contracts is able to be negotiated. A break-down of the best way to set up this 80/20 Rule is as follows:
80 % of contracts: No legal involvement
Your company has ensured that your standard templates contracts are straightforward and standardized enough that they can be handled without any input from the legal team. This includes routine agreements or contracts that follow a well-established template. The idea is to empower the commercial team and relieve legal resources by allowing non-legal staff to manage these contracts.
10 % of contracts: Light Touch of Legal Involvement in the background
These contracts require some legal oversight, but not extensive involvement. The legal team might review the documents briefly or provide occasional guidance. Legal will be the advisor in the background, ensuring that there are no major issues without being heavily involved in the drafting or negotiation process.
Remaining 10 % of contracts: Legal is actively involved
These are the most complex or high-risk contracts that demand significant input from the legal team. Legal professionals will be actively involved in drafting, negotiating, and finalizing these agreements. This ensures that potential legal risks are thoroughly assessed and mitigated.
In essence, the 80/20 Rule in this context is about optimizing the use of legal resources to make the contract management process faster and more efficient. By categorizing contracts based on the required level of legal involvement, organizations can streamline operations, reduce bottlenecks, and ensure that critical legal oversight is available where it is most needed.
2. Create Easy-to-Use Templates
The second rule concerns the importance of using simple, easily usable contract templates. To be persistent with the first rule of dividing up the contractual work between legal and non-legal departments, this rule is crucial, as you focus on contract standards that are straightforward, market practice and user-friendly. This means less comments by external legal departments and it allows non-legal staff to handle contracts with minimal confusion and delays.
To ensure that your contract templates stay simple in daily use, please see the following checklist of contract templates that might need attention:
- Traditional contracts: If you’re still using traditional contracts, consider shifting to an Order Form or similar that references to a General Terms & Conditions, a Master Service Agreement (MSA), or a standard Customer Agreement.
- Separate documents for each country: Using separate contract templates for different countries can complicate the process. That does not have to be the case though, as a template that can be universally applied with some minor adjustments works just as well. That can reduce the complexity when dealing with contracts in more countries.
- Overly Complicated Templates covering all potential risks: If every possible risk is addressed, the template can be too complicated and difficult to use. If a more standardized template that cover the most common and significant risks is used, it is more user-friendly.
If your current templates fall into any of the above categories, you might want to consider revising them to make them simpler and more efficient as that will save time and reduce misunderstandings. That leads to a more efficient contract management process which will save you so much time.
Another step apart from simplifying your templates that can make the process more efficient is to create playbooks. The aim of the Playbooks is to explain and provide alternatives to common clauses. Using Standard Questionnaires is another way of making the process easier. This can reduce the need for lengthy explanations and back-and-forth communications.
By creating easy-to-use contract templates and accompanying tools like playbooks and standard questionnaires, you can significantly reduce the time and effort needed to handle contracts. This approach supports the division of contractual work as outlined in the first rule, making the entire process more efficient and less reliant on legal intervention for most contracts.
3. Delegate Most Legal Work to Commercial Teams
This step stresses the importance of delegating the contract management and negotiation of contracts to the contract owners, i.e. usually the Sales and/or Procurement teams. This delegation aims to streamline processes and empower non-legal departments to handle contracts effectively. This will work especially well if they are provided with great templates (including where possible playbooks)
By shifting the responsibility of contract management and negotiation to the contract owners, they can handle the bulk of the contractual work independently. As the Sales and Procurement teams usually are responsible for initiating, negotiating and managing contracts related to their function, this empowerment is only natural. As Sales and Procurement teams are closer to the commercial aspects of the contracts, they can negotiate more effectively and tailor the terms to meet business need.
This reduces reliance on the legal department solely for every contract-related task and speeds up the process as those departments usually are more flexible than legal.
This delegation streamlines the contract process, optimizes resource use, and ensures faster and more efficient contract handling.
4. Open Communication between Legal and Commercial Teams
The next tip emphasizes the importance of involving relevant teams in the development and implementation of new contract templates and standards. Additionally, teams should meet regularly to keep communicate opportunities to improve the templates and the processes.
When implementing new contract templates, the top-down approach (meaning that teams are forced to use new templates or new ways of working) does not work.
This approach often leads to resistance from the other teams. Instead, when issuing new contract templates or standards, a pro-tip is to actually involve the other teams of the organization and teach them how to use them in their day-to-day work. Doing this might seem inefficient, but involving the teams that will use the new templates and standards is paramount to create practical, user-friendly templates..
Team Involvement
There are many positive ways to involve the team in the development of templates, but most importantly:
- When non-legal team members are involved in the development of the templates, they will be more likely to advocate the correct use of the templates,
- Ask non-legal colleagues if the templates are easy to understand, and change where necessary, which will increase and it is more likely that departments will use the templates,
- If Sales and/or Procurement teams have the opportunity to provide input and feedback, the templates will remain up to date,
- Regular training to inform the teams about the development of templates and asking for input is the key to success.
A top-down approach to impose new contract templates and standards does not work.
As we have noticed in practice and as shown in research, providing training to e.g. Sales and Procurement Teams, while continuously collecting and incorporating feedback, leads to higher adoption rates, improved compliance and more efficient contract management.
This collaborative approach fosters a sense of ownership and engagement among all stakeholders of the company.
5. Create Legal Landing Page and Implement Legal Tech
The last tip to improve and ensure efficiency in contract management and negotiation is (i) to create a centralized repository where all standards are located and (ii) implement legal tech in your organization.
Legal Landing Page
Start with the creation of a legal landing page, which is a centralized repository where all legal templates, guidelines and resources are easily accessible. This helps streamline the process of making deals and ensures that everyone is using the correct and most recent templates. Additionally, it reduces delays and confusion in the organization.
“Where can I find that template again?”
Some examples of essential templates to include in the legal landing page include the following documents:
- NDA
- Order Form
- General Terms and Conditions (T&C) / Master Services Agreement (MSA) / Terms of Use Agreement (ToU)
- Customer Agreement
- Data Privacy Agreement
- Privacy Policy
- Partner Agreement
- Amendment/Variation Agreement
The best approach is to include the most used contract templates in the legal landing page for it to be used the most efficient.
Legal Technology
Once you have implemented the Legal Landing Page and take other steps to improve the legal processes of the company, it is time to implement legal tech in the organization. If you have the budget, invest in a contract management system to centralize, track, and manage all templates and all specific contracts. This improves efficiency, compliance, and accessibility of contract information.
Creating a legal landing page and implementing legal tech can significantly enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of a smaller organization’s legal processes. By providing easy access to essential templates and automating routine tasks, employees can handle many legal functions independently, ensuring consistency, compliance, and scalability. This approach not only empowers teams but also frees up the legal department to focus on more complex and high-value tasks.
Reach out to us at AMST Legal at rreggers@amstlegal.com or call on +31 6 5060 8964 for tips to improve your legal processes or negotiate your contracts.
How to Finish the Quarter Strong in Contract Negotiations – 6 Tips
Introduction
Is there a way to prepare for contract negotiation peaks, like the end of the quarter? Especially before the end of Q2 (Summer holidays and Q4 (Christmas holidays) commercial and legal teams see a spike in contracts that need to be signed. Also see this Harvard Business article on the end of quarter sales rush and how to improve your sales processes.
As a lawyer and in-house legal counsel since 2004, I’ve witnessed firsthand the challenges faced as quarter-end approaches. Negotiation deadlines, approvals bottleneck and orderly workflows turn into chaos and team members are stressed. What if you could approach this challenging period with strategic foresight and unmatched efficiency? Let’s explore how proactive planning can transform your end-of-quarter chaos into a symphony of streamlined processes in the Article ‘How to Finish the Quarter Strong in Contract Negotiations – 6 Tips’.
Harnessing Proactive Steps to Master the Quarter-End Crunch
The key to conquering the quarter-end isn’t reactive measures but proactive planning. With Q2 upon us, now is the perfect time to optimize your legal department’s operations and prevent the usual end-of-quarter negotiation bottlenecks.
Setting the Stage for Efficiency
While Q2 is often underestimated in terms of urgency, it’s an ideal period for reflection and goal setting. Take this time to evaluate your legal department’s past achievements and outline ambitious targets for the weeks ahead. Actions taken now will not only streamline current processes but will also pave the way for a smoother Q3 and beyond.
Preparation in the previous months is instrumental in achieving this efficiency. Working on templates and improving meeting structures between legal and all relevant teams sets a solid foundation for success.
Example: One of my clients, a mid-sized tech company, struggled with the chaos of quarter-end contract negotiations. By introducing standardized templates for recurring agreements and setting up regular bi-weekly meetings between the legal team and sales departments, they managed to streamline their processes significantly. Within two quarters, the time spent on each contract was reduced by 30%, and the number of last-minute urgent requests dropped dramatically.
Here are some actionable tips to set your team up for success:
Templates Only
Avoid new custom-made contracts. Use standardized templates to save time and reduce errors.
Focus Only on Q2 Deals
Prioritize deals closing this quarter. Concentrate your efforts on what can be completed by the end of Q2 to avoid last-minute rushes.
Write Down Lessons Learned
Document improvements for future reference. Reflect on past challenges and successes to refine your processes continuously.
The Power of Proactive Communication
With only a few weeks left in Q2, initiating a targeted communication strategy is crucial. Here’s a recommended approach:
Proactive Communication
Initiate clear and targeted communication early, also with outside counsel and customers. Open lines of communication ensure everyone is on the same page and can address potential issues promptly.
Set Clear Expectations
Define focus areas and require management approval for exceptions. Clearly articulate priorities to your team and stakeholders to ensure alignment and minimize distractions.
Example
At a large financial services firm I worked with, the legal team started sending out a “Quarter-End Preparation Bulletin” four weeks before the end of each quarter. This bulletin included a clear outline of priorities, deadlines, and key contacts for any urgent matters. By setting these expectations early, the team saw a 50% reduction in last-minute contract sign-offs and a smoother approval process.
Recommended Approach:
- Targeted Communication: Start with drafting a clear, concise email to your Sales, Partner, and Procurement teams.
- Clear Expectations: Outline that your focus for the upcoming two weeks will revolve around ongoing contracts, genuinely urgent matters, and documents needing signatures by quarter-end.
- Management Approval: Make it known that any deviations from these priorities will require direct approval from senior management.
Building Trust Through Consistency
Implementing this proactive communication strategy may initially meet some resistance. However, consistency will foster trust and acceptance over time, leading to earlier and more efficient interactions with Sales, Procurement, and Partnership teams.
Consistency Builds Trust
Regular, predictable processes lead to better outcomes. Establishing a routine will help your team and stakeholders know what to expect and plan accordingly.
Consistency is key. When your team and stakeholders know what to expect, it builds trust and reliability. This consistency ensures that everyone is prepared and can plan their work around these predictable processes.
Proven Success and Long-Term Benefits
Adopting this proactive stance can yield significant improvements within just a few quarters. By optimizing the use of your team’s resources and ensuring focus on critical, time-sensitive tasks, you can achieve better results and reduce stress.
Example
A medical devices company we advised implemented these strategies and saw notable improvements within 2 to 3 quarters. The legal team’s productivity increased by 40%, and they reported a significant reduction in stress levels and overtime hours during quarter-end.
Next Steps for Implementation
Before you send out that crucial email, ensure your team is aligned during your regular meetings and gain the necessary buy-in from key stakeholders to support this new strategy. Make sure everyone understands the benefits and is on board with the changes.
Conclusion
By embracing proactive strategies before the peak of Q2, you can effectively reduce negotiation hurdles and enhance your legal team’s productivity throughout the year. This approach, honed through my extensive experience in various high-level legal roles, can transform your quarter-end processes into efficient, well-oiled operations
How to Improve Your Negotiation – 7 Best Books to Read
7 Great Books to start with when you want to improve your Negotiation style. You will absolutely see that you will be a better negotiator if you apply the lessons mentioned in these books.
Förklaring av NDAs – Vad du behöver veta (del 1)
Förklaring av NDAs – Vad du behöver veta (del 1)
I den konkurrenskraftiga affärsvärlden där idéer, innovationer, finansiell information och hemligheter är framgångsnycklarna, spelar Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) ofta en viktig roll i att skydda ett företags konfidentiella information. NDA säkerställer att den konfidentiella informationen endast används för det specificerade ändamålet som parterna i en affärsrelation avtalat om. Denna artikel kommer att ge en omfattande översikt av NDA i sammanhanget Business to Business (B2B).
Vad är ett NDA?
Ett NDA, även kallat sekretessavtal, är ett juridiskt bindande avtal mellan två eller flera parter med syfte att skydda konfidentiell information som kan komma att delas under tiden av deras affärsrelation. Mer specifikt är företags konfidentiella information icke-offentlig information som skulle kunna skada företaget om det skulle offentliggöras. Vanligtvis inkluderas en lista över den konfidentiella informationen i avtalet. Det kan innehålla exempelvis affärshemligheter, know-how, produkt- och teknikrelaterad information, rabatter, kundlistor, försäljnings- och finansiell information, affärsplaner etc.
Varför och när behöver vi ett NDA?
I B2B-sammanhang kan NDA vara ett väsentligt verktyg för att skydda affärshemligheter och annan konfidentiell information som är viktig för ett företag för att bibehålla dess konkurrensfördelar. Denna känsliga information bör därför definieras tydligt och noggrant i NDA. Var däremot försiktig med att inte definiera det för snävt för att säkerställa att du inte har missat en viktig kategori. Genom användande av ett korrekt utformat NDA kan ditt företag skydda värdefull information från konkurrenter eller tredjeparter som kan dra nytta av att sådan information avslöjas.
Primärt syfte
Det primära syftet med ett NDA är att säkerställa att den avslöjade känsliga informationen används och hanteras säkert, vilket förhindrar en avslöjande part att använda eller röja informationen utan vederbörligt tillstånd och behörighet. Ett NDA undertecknas ofta i början av en affärsrelation innan man går in i affärsrelationen.
Exempel
Vanligt exempel: Ett teknikföretag planerar att sälja och erbjuda specialiserade programvarulösningar till en företagskund. Företagen börjar med att diskutera hur man integrerar programvaran i kundens system för att fastställa priset för integrationen och användningen av programvaran. För detta kan teknikföretaget dela insyn om sin prissättning, SLA, policys och programvara, och kunden kan i sin tur förklara sina utmaningar och dela affärsplaner. När företagen gör detta planerar de således att dela dokument, inklusive icke-offentliga sådana, det vill säga konfidentiell information. Därför rekommenderas det att sådana företag skriver under ett NDA innan de delar sådan konfidentiell information sinsemellan. Ett sådant NDA kan sägas upp när parterna undertecknar ett slutligt kundavtal, vilket också bör inkludera sekretessvillkor.
Hur skyddar ett NDA din konfidentiella information?
Precis som för vilket annat juridiskt avtal som helst, medför avtalsbrott av ett NDA rättsliga konsekvenser. Beroende på avtalsbrottets allvar kan konsekvenserna sträcka sig från rättsprocesser och ekonomiska påföljder till åtal i extremfall. Avtalsbrott avseende ett NDA kan också skada en parts renommé, vilket kan leda till andra långvariga konsekvenser för dess affärsverksamhet, särskilt i affärsrelationer och i branscher där förtroende och sekretess är avgörande. Rättsliga anspråk och stämningar rörande avtalsbrott av ett NDA hör inte till vanligheten, men det händer definitivt att ett företag behöver betala vite för avtalsbrott. Vi har även gett rådgivning några gånger tidigare i denna fråga.
Vilken slags NDA behöver du?
Det finns olika typer av NDA som kan användas baserat på de specifika omständigheterna och de involverade parternas behov. Nedan listas de tre vanligaste typerna:
- Unilateralt NDA (Ensidigt NDA): I ett ensidigt NDA ålägger en part, vanligtvis säljaren, den andra parten skyldigheten att säkra informationen och inte avslöja eller använda informationen för något annat syfte än det som specificerats i avtalet. I ett B2B-sammanhang, används ensidiga NDA ofta mellan köpare och säljare. Exempelvis kan ett bioteknikföretag (säljare) använda ett ensidigt NDA för att förhindra köparen från att avslöja känslig information de har fått vid köp av produkter eller tjänster såsom immateriella rättigheter och datorteknologi. Det är även vanligt i offentliga upphandlingar och för RFI (Request for information) vid RFP (Request for Price) situationer.
- Gemensamt NDA (tvåsidigt eller ömsesidigt NDA): Ett ömsesidigt NDA involverar två parter där båda parter kommer att dela känslig information med varandra och kommer ömsesidigt överens om att båda parter blir bundna av tystnadsplikt. Ömsesidiga NDA används ofta när parter behöver utbyta betydande mängder av konfidentiell information under sina förhandlingar eller affärsrelationer. Sådana situationer kan vara joint ventures, leverantörsavtal eller företagsförvärv.
- Multilateralt NDA (tre- eller flerparts NDA): Ett multilateralt NDA inkluderar tre eller fler parter, där åtminstone en part delar känslig information med andra parter och genomdriver tystnadsplikt. Den här typen av NDA förenklar pappersarbetet och administrationen för parterna på så sätt att parterna inte behöver ingå flertalet ensidiga eller bilaterala NDA med varandra. I en affärsrelation som involverar tre parter, där alla förväntar sig att avslöja konfidentiell information, kan ett enda multilateralt NDA ersätta behovet av tre olika bilaterala NDA mellan varje partspar. Sådana situationer kan vara partnerskap, regeringskontrakt (såsom försvars- och rymdfartskontrakt) och konsortieavtal.
Contract Management: Two Simple Tips to Optimize Your Contract Templates
Introduction: Understanding Contract Optimization
In today’s business environment, efficiency and clarity in contract management are more crucial than ever. One question we frequently encounter is, “What exactly is Contract Optimization Advice?” This concept might seem intricate at first glance, but it’s fundamentally about streamlining your contract processes to save time, reduce errors, and ensure legal compliance. Let me illustrate this with a straightforward example from our recent advisory work.
The Challenge: Streamlining Contract Processes for Enhanced Efficiency
A client approached us with a common yet complex challenge. They had two separate (fairly long) customer contracts in use, signed approximately 100 times each year. These contracts were:
- A standard customer contract for clients not receiving subsidies or government funding.
- A standard customer contract for clients that do receive such financial support.
They asked us to improve the wording of the contract, ensuring that companies signing the contracts understood the contracts sufficiently, avoiding legal jargon where possible. Additionally, they asked to advise them how to amend the contract in such a way that processes would be more efficient. Most importantly, we would of course focus on lowering the risks for the company, where reasonably possible.
Both contracts included a pricing annex, which was subject to regular updates.
Our Approach: Simplification and Innovation
After a brief introductory call with the client and a review of the contracts, we proposed a straightforward yet innovative solution. Our advice focused on two initial key changes which we already proposed without going into the details of the full contracts.
- Consolidation into One Contract: We recommended merging the two contracts into a single document with a distinct annex for subsidy or funding conditions. This approach not only simplifies the contract management process but also ensures that all customers are subject to the same core terms and conditions, promoting fairness and transparency.
- Digital Pricing Updates: To address the challenge of the frequently updated pricing annex, we suggested adding a link to the pricing information on the company’s website. This allows for real-time updates to be made accessible immediately after notifying customers, thereby significantly reducing administrative burdens and enhancing operational efficiency.
The Impact: A Smoother Path to Business Success
Our client implemented these changes and observed a noticeable improvement in their contract negotiation times and overall legal process efficiency. More importantly, this optimization made their business operations smoother and their customers happier by providing clearer, more accessible contract terms.
Conclusion: Let Us Simplify Your Contractual Challenges
Contract optimization is more than a service; it’s a pathway to enhancing your business’s operational efficiency and customer satisfaction. By embracing simplicity and leveraging technology, we can help you navigate the complexities of contract management with ease.
Are you ready to streamline your contract processes and make your business life easier? Contact us for tailored contract optimization advice. Book an appointment with us to discuss possibilities for your company.
Tags: #AMSTLegal #ImproveYourContracts #ImproveYourTemplates #Negotiation #ContractLaw #LegalEfficiency #Legal #CommercialContracts
How to improve your Contract Processes with Better Cooperation
Legal should focus on Better Cross-Departmental Cooperation
As we have highlighted in previous posts, it takes leadership and a team to improve your contract templates. Once Legal has taken the lead and the centralized responsibility to improve the contract templates, the next step is to involve and work together on this goal with other departments. The creation and use alone of contract templates will only offer limited benefits This is not only essential to receive all required input for the contract templates, but also for a successful implementation of the contract templates.
Legal professionals often limit their interactions to their Legal colleagues or senior management when creating and implementing contract templates or negotiating contracts. This limitation, while understandable, can lead to contract templates and agreed contracts that are legally sound but are missing critical business insights.
Additionally, as mentioned above, the complexity, inaccuracy and lack of processes will lead to the use of unauthorized or outdated templates and excessive Legal Review due to lack of internal processes and support from other departments.
Insight Integration: A Collective Approach on Template Creation
Therefore, aligning contract templates with the practical realities of the business is essential. Departments such as Sales, Products, Finance and Compliance offer invaluable insights on commercial and financial risks, practical considerations and the specificities of products or services offered by the company.
This input ensures that the contract templates are not only legally robust, but also fit in the commercial roadmap of the company and cover all other company risks (e.g. technical, compliance, operational and financial).
Another important reason to involve these departments in the drafting process of the templates is to create a sense of ownership and support from these stakeholders. When departments contribute in the development of the standardized contract templates of a company, they are more likely to endorse and actually use the templates. This collaborative approach not only enhances the quality and relevance of the contract templates but also ensures their acceptance and utilization across the organization, ultimately leading to smoother operations and reduced risks.
Enhancing Cross-Departmental Collaboration – Improve Communication & Cooperation
Legal´s role in improving the communication and cooperation with the rest of the company cannot be understated. Regular, strategic meetings between Legal and other departments are essential to set the stage for a more integrated and efficient approach to contract management of the company.
These discussions should focus on:
- a) Strategic Alignment: First, Legal needs to clearly communicate its short and long term intended contract optimization strategy to all departments. Secondly, these departments should share their strategy and specific requirements and contributions to the contract process and templates. This will give Legal the opportunity to create and roll-out the best strategy to improve the Company´s contract processes and templates.
- b) Issue Identification and Resolution: Facilitating an open dialogue where Legal and all other departments can highlight challenges encountered with current templates and collaboratively develop solutions to streamline cooperation and reduce operational burdens.
- c) Training and Involvement: Initiating internal workshops to educate teams on optimal contract template usage, Legal engagement policies, while encouraging feedback and suggestions for improvements to ensure templates remain relevant and effective.
- d) Proactive Communication: Discussing the optimization of the empowerment of the commercial teams, meaning that all relevant contract-related documents and information are proactively shared with customers and partners by the Sales, Partnerships and Procurement teams.
This will greatly minimize the workload of Legal and maximize their output due to a decreased need of Legal clarifications and Legal involvement in negotiations. The importance of regular, inclusive meetings and training sessions cannot be overstated. When planning, it is essential to engage every layer of the organization, from grassroots employees to top management, in strategic discussions and trainings.
These sessions serve as a cornerstone for aligning strategies, creating an environment where all team members are equipped with the knowledge and skills to navigate the complexities of the contract optimization process and their roles effectively.
By maintaining a consistent schedule of these critical discussions and training, organizations can avoid the pitfalls of reactionary measures during peak periods of activity. Instead, a well-informed and strategically aligned team will be ready to handle the demands of the business efficiently, ensuring continuity and resilience in the face of challenges.