3 Dimensions / 10 Elements Preparation
My original journal was titled "Successful negotiation starts with proper preparations". The course showed me I had been preparing for the price, not for the negotiation. Build your own map below.
Interactive formats on this page: 10-element prep planner with completeness meter, local saving and printable one-page prep sheet; People/Substance/Process sorting (9 items); 6-question quiz.
Learning objectives
After this module you should be able to:
- Name the three dimensions (People, Substance, Process) and ten preparation elements.
- Apply each element to the S$1.80m property negotiation.
- Produce a one-page preparation sheet you could take into a real negotiation.
- Explain why preparation is "the first move" (Lempereur & Colson).
- Distinguish a preparation map (adaptive) from a checklist or script (rigid).
Property example — the S$1.80m case
For the S$1.80m unit, the map means I should: map the seller, spouse or family, agents, other potential buyers, bank and lawyer; investigate why the seller is selling; prepare multiple variables and packages; identify alternative properties and value them; gather comparable transactions and valuation evidence; and plan the sequence, questions, financing and documentation.
Click "Fill with the property example" in the planner to see my illustrative map, then replace it with your own.
All property figures are illustrative and do not represent my real numbers.
Interactive exercise
Part A — Prep planner (generates a printable prep sheet)
Fill in the ten elements for your negotiation. Placeholders show my illustrative S$1.80m example. Your entries are saved only in this browser. Click Generate prep sheet to see a one-page sheet, or Print prep sheet to print just the sheet.
Part B — Which dimension?
Part C — Check your understanding
Critical question
Comprehensiveness is also the framework's risk. Ten elements can become a checklist that gives me a feeling of readiness without changing what I do. The test of preparation is whether it lets me adapt when something unexpected happens — for example, when the seller reveals a spouse who must approve. If my preparation did not anticipate a decision-maker away from the table, I prepared a document, not a map.
That is why the generated sheet ends with a "surprise test" line, and why the simulation scores its checklist only lightly: ticking a box is not the same as preparing.
What I got wrong before
| Old belief | What I now think | What changed my mind |
|---|---|---|
| Preparation means price and arguments. | Preparation includes People, Substance and Process. | Powerscreen and the 10 Trumps; The First Move |
| The first move is the first number. | The first move is preparation and proposing a process. | Lempereur & Colson |
Preparation is a map of the people, substance and process that allows me to adapt when the negotiation changes.
Key takeaways
- Three dimensions, ten elements: People (relationship, mandate, stakeholders), Substance (motivations, options, BATNA, criteria), Process (process, communication, logistics).
- Price research is preparation for one variable, not for the negotiation.
- Preparation is the real first move.
- A map lets you adapt; a script breaks on the first surprise.
- Keep your four numbers on the sheet — and off the table.