The negotiation is often about how the negotiation is going to unfold. This is one reason why arbitration is such a powerful tool—agreeing to it assures mutual enrollment in the process and the outcome. Without mutual enrollment, it falls apart. The quicksand shows up when you skip the essential pre-negotiation and assume that this system will play by the rules you’re hoping for. It’s a mistake to assume that each player is going to imagine the same rules.
