CRI's Werner Braun on Building Trust

Trust is Essential to Effective Negotiations - Werner Braun

In his May 6 column, titled Building Trust - Trust Leads to Effective Negotiations for Dalton’s Daily-Citizen Carpet and Rug Institute President Werner Braun discusses the Boulder Principles, a set of best practices for conflict resolution he helped develop when he was a toxicologist with The Dow Chemical Company.

Fully titled, “The Boulder Principles for Effective Collaborative Processes on Sustainable Development and Environmental Policy,” the principles serve as a template for effective collaboration among people of disparate backgrounds and viewpoints.

Mr. Braun talked about how the rules he helped establish in the Boulder Principles continue to inform his decisions today. In brief, the guidelines consist of these basic tenets:

1) create an ethical base for the collaborative process, 2) encourage participation by all affected parties, 3) create an atmosphere of trust, 4) support the needs of diverse cultures, 5) establish a transparent and easily accessible process, 6) provide access to technical information, 7) recognize interests and knowledge of all parties, and 8) monitor effects of decisions and follow-up regarding implementation.

The Boulder Principles were developed in the mid-1990s when Mr. Braun took part in The Great Lakes Initiative — the 1995 agreement between the Environmental Protection Agency and the Great Lakes states to create a comprehensive plan to restore the health of the Great Lakes. The project was funded by George Kuper and the Council of Great Lakes Industry. The article continues:

“At that time, trust — especially between the manufacturing community and the public — was not always at the table. There were a lot of players involved, many from different cultural backgrounds and mindsets about what should be done for the Great Lakes.

A key aspect of the meetings was that people with varied interests and experiences were involved. Participants included representatives of industry, academia, the scientific community, indigenous tribes, NGOs, government, community and minority groups, and environmental issues organizations. There was an interesting dynamic in the room at that first meeting; there wasn’t a whole lot of trust among the group, and negotiations did not start out strong.

Fortunately, feelings changed over time. After the first day’s session, the group went rock climbing. Each participant took turns climbing the six-story rope — that’s 60 feet. When each participant strapped onto the rope to climb and handed off to the anchor person at the bottom, they were literally saying, “I trust you to catch me if I fall.” It’s during that rock climbing adventure I learned a very valuable lesson — the real key in the area of negotiation (with your colleagues or your significant other) is trust. The next two meetings went smoothly and we were successful in making “bold” Boulder Principles.”

Thank you, Werner.

What have you found effective for building trust when you negotiate?

~Bethany