The wily organiser

For Martin Snedden, negotiations came down to trust, empathy and flattery.

The former international cricketer has headed New Zealand Cricket, led the organising team for the 2011 Rugby World Cup, and was the chief executive of Duco Events before leaving just before owners Dean Lonergan and David Higgins fell out at the start of the year.

Organising the Rugby World Cup was a lot like forming a coalition under MMP, he says.

There were a huge number of parties and individuals involved, all with their own objectives and agendas – but nothing would happen unless they worked together.

‘‘It’s important to find enough common ground to form the core of a solution. But you can’t sell your soul,’’ says Snedden.

‘‘If you give everything up in your quest for power you might think you’ve got what you want. But it’ll blow up in your face in the long run.’’

In politics, voters will abandon a party that’s willing to drop its core values and that might leave them out of the running at the next election, he says.

And no-one wants to get too close to a businessman who has a ruthless reputation and no limits.

In both cases it’s about trust, Snedden says. ‘‘If you lose credibility it’s a long way back.’’

Because there are no agreements without trust and that might be in short supply heading into talks on a coalition government, Snedden says it needs to be built in the negotiation process.

Every discussion has ‘‘junction points’’ where everybody is basically on the same page. Agree on it it and move on, even if it’s the only thing that’s agreed upon so far, and that builds common ground and trust, Snedden says.

‘‘And on the occasion you do agree on a point, you don’t ever go back. If you renege on your agreements the trust is gone.’’

It’s always important to understand where the other party is coming from to identify those junction points. ‘‘Walk away from yourself, and step into their shoes... That will give you a decent view of what their priorities are.’’

And if you’re careful, it pays to butter them up with some honest compliments as they are less likely to dig their heels in, Snedden says.

‘‘Everybody is susceptible to flattery. Everyone has an ego, some more than others.

‘‘But you can’t do it all the time, you have to pick your moments, flattery only works if it seems authentic.’’