Organizations practicing ad hoc negotiation lose an average of 10% of deal value through randomness and chaos. Understanding ad hockery—the organizational equivalent of karaoke after three drinks—reveals why even sophisticated companies fail at negotiations and provides clear pathways to systematic capability.
Executive Summary
The Problem: Organizations rely on individual heroics and last-minute tactics rather than systematic negotiation processes, creating expensive failures masked by occasional victories.
The Framework: Ad hockery represents Level 1 in the negotiation capability model, characterized by absence of process, measurement, and organizational learning.
The Solution: Three simple tools—negotiation charter, pre-brief protocol, and post-action review—transform chaos into repeatable competency.
Picture a CEO entering an elevator for a $10 million negotiation while frantically googling “negotiation tactics” on their phone. This scene, tragically common across industries, epitomizes what we call ad hockery—the organizational equivalent of karaoke after three drinks. You might occasionally nail the high notes, but consistency remains elusive, and the audience suffers through the failures while remembering only the rare successes.
Ad hockery pervades modern organizations despite sophisticated approaches to manufacturing, software development, and sales. Companies deploy Six Sigma, Agile methodologies, and detailed playbooks for nearly every business function except negotiation. When billions in value hang in the balance, organizations inexplicably revert to hoping their negotiators possess magical abilities to succeed through charm and intuition alone.
This analysis examines ad hockery as a systemic organizational failure, revealing its true costs and providing actionable pathways to capability. The discussion
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