Remember the KID, behind this ten principles? Do the essential before turning to the obvious task. Now, let's turn to the second principle. Negotiation means obviously action, doing things, entering into discussions et cetera. But, what is essential before hand however, is preparation, getting ready, and how to get prepared was the focus of module two. I hope that you became familiar with this ten elements. On the people dimension, relationship, mandate, stakeholders. On the problem dimension, motivations, solutions at the table, justifications, and solution away from the table. Last on the process dimension, organization, communication, and logistics. Once you're prepared, the obvious temptation is to join the negotiation meeting, which means usually meeting with external partners. The essential step before that though, is to build an internal consensus within your own environment. You are prepared, but is this preparation in line with your close colleagues and partners? Imagine the situation where a well-prepared sales manager sold the vast amount of products without checking in the first place with the production manager if the company was actually able to manufacture such a quantity at this point in time. This principle, internal consensus before external meeting is very important when you're about to join a meeting as a team, each of you presenting a specific department of your organization. This is essential to build an internal alignment and cohesiveness before meeting with the other side at the table. Do we all agree on our objectives and our strategy? How do we share roles? Now, as a bonus, let me also share with you principle number three and a half. Before a multilateral meeting where several parties will negotiate, it is essential to build alliances. Through informal bilateral discussions, try and build a coalition around your approaches. So that you're no longer isolated when the multilateral negotiation meeting starts. Now that you're aligned with your colleagues, you're eager to engage into the discussion of the problem. Wrong. Obviously, there is a negotiation because a problem or a series of problems have to be solved. However, if you want to increase your chances to solve the problem, it is essential that you set the right process first. Clarify with the opposite number the rules of the game. How long do we have? How do we structure the agenda? Do we discuss one item at a time or do we go for a package deal approach? And this fourth principle, process before substance, will help you avoid two scenarios you don't want to be in. The first scenario is, nobody thought about the process. Your negotiation is likely to be chaotic, and that will not help you reach your objectives. The second scenario is even worse, you didn't check the process, but they did, and they organized everything in the way they want things to happen. So remember, set the process before engaging into the problem. You will discover more first things first principles in the next video.