Article December 27, 1993 Issue

Negotiating

Approaching our dealings from a spiritual standpoint benefits everyone.

Geoffrey J. Barratt

A book published a few years ago told how to negotiate successfully—that is, as the author put it, negotiate to one's own benefit. The book outlined strategies for getting others under the sway of one's own will.

It's an interesting subject, because everyone gets involved in the particular mode of thinking called negotiating—not just executives and union bosses, diplomats and politicians, contractors and real estate salespeople, bank managers and bank customers. Negotiating goes on in home, office, church, school, pretty constantly, and a lot of that coming-to-agreement is unspoken. But whatever its context, negotiating is essentially about thinking.

Simply put, we could say negotiation is the attempt of personal minds to come to a consensus, or to gain advantage. That's the surface reading of what negotiation is. But Christian Science helps us see the concept from a higher perspective.

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