Prof. Paul Fisher

Paul is Programme Director of the Oxford Programme on Negotiation (OPN).

As well as teaching on OPN, Paul teaches negotiation, persuasion and influence, decision-making and leadership on a variety of other programmes at the School.

Paul also programme directs leadership programmes for major organisations including the UN World Food Programme and the Bank of Jamaica and is Programme Director of the Women’s World Banking Leadership and Diversity Programme for Regulators and the Oxford Senior Executive Leadership Programme.

Outside the School, Paul teaches negotiation at the William J Clinton Leadership Institute, Queen’s University Belfast and the Western University of Ukraine where he is Visiting Professor. He is also Programme Director of the Small Countries Financial Management Programme, held in Oxford and the Isle of Man.

Paul also sits on the advisory panel for the ‘Enhancing Leadership and Governance in Public Financial Management Program in Africa’, run by the African Capacity Building Foundation.

Paul graduated from the University of Liverpool with a degree in politics and is also a certified business coach and cross-cultural trainer with over 20 years’ experience in the field of communications, education and capacity building.

Abstract of session

Good negotiators have a heightened sense of self-awareness. They recognize the biases that we all possess and that too often trap us into making bad decisions as the negotiation progresses. Greater self-awareness can make us better persuaders and more sensitive to manipulative efforts to influence us employed by those with whom we are negotiating. Tim Cullen will explore two building blocks to successful negotiation: decision-making and persuasion, and go on to lay out a range of strategies to enable both parties to achieve positive results. Often standard bargaining approaches fail and innovative thinking is required. Once made, agreements must be implemented and enforced to succeed. These five skills: – information-gathering, rational decision-making, persuasion, innovation, and implementation – constitute the negotiator’s tool kit. The programme has been designed to equip experienced professionals with tools that allow you to reach agreements that work. After participating on this programme you will gain better results for your organisation, gain confidence in handling difficult situations and enhance your communication and influencing skills. Complex negotiation scenarios which provide a range of competitive and cooperative negotiation strategies are analysed. Whether you’re an experienced executive or and up-and-coming manager – working in the private or public sector – this session will help you shape important deals, negotiate in uncertain environments, improve working relationships, claim (and create) more value, and resolve seemingly intractable disputes. Tim Cullen will also touch on issues of trust and ethics which we believe to be critically important to building trust among negotiators. The session will be brought to life by cases and simulations.