Kennedys Negotiation

UK's first-ever negotiation course

1977
"The 8-Step Approach has directly impacted the way we work in our companies" Board Member, Scottish & Newcastle, Nabisco, and Reed Packaging
1977
1980
"The advice which it offers can be applied to all forms of negotiations" J. E. Mortimer, General Secretary of the Labour Party
1980
1985
"We need these types of courses! We don't have these skills and most of us don't even know we need them." General Manager
1985
1988
"The information that was presented in the workshop is extremely relevant to my job performance, but also the company as a whole."
1988
1993
"Up until now we've been ad hoc in our approach to deal negotiation. Now we'll be a more professional team." Vice President, Business Development
1993
2000
this is the best money [our company] has ever spent
2000
2008
"The Central Trust Group gives Kennedy Method straight A’s across the board" Andrew Turner – Managing Director ,
2008
2013
"I searched far and wide the most prominent material on negotiation available today and am convinced that the Kennedy methodology is superior in its clarity and practical applicability" Bertie Du Plessis – CLO, Naspers
2013
2019
"As important as it is to secure the right terms for a shared enterprise, it is just as critical to form a sustainable relationship" Jason Roswig, Managing Director, Blackstone Group
2019
2021
"Disciplined trade-offs delivered $12M in value and preserved core capabilities" Mohamed Gamal CFO, AstraZeneca Near East
2021

Kennedys Advancing Negotiation Skills (KANS) Programme distills over five decades of behavioral insight into one powerful, field-tested experience.

8 Steps of Negotiation

Legacy to Future

It began in 1972—not as a lecture, but as a live negotiation lab at Brunel University. Far from a conventional seminar, it was a pressure-tested environment where role-playing met real-world complexity. The method was sharpened further with senior teams at Shell and Scottish & Newcastle Breweries, marking the origin of the 8-Step, 4-Phase model—a structured, behavioral approach that transformed how negotiation is taught and practiced..
HW

Evidence-based

Based on 50-plus years of observation, research and practical application —the Kennedy 8-Step / Four-Phase system codifies the real behaviors of high-performing negotiators: how they think, adapt, and escalate when the stakes are real. Refined in partnership with Edinburgh Business School, it is now embedded in top FT-ranked business schools worldwide—including IESE, Yale, ESADE, and others—across MBA, DBA, and executive education programmes
govement

Billions of pounds

The Kennedy 8-Step / Four-Phase approach governs negotiation like capital allocation—disciplined, conditional, and behavior-driven—and it has shaped billions in negotiation outcomes and continues to anchor the negotiation capability of many of the original FTSE 100 companies.

Our flagship negotiation skills training and development programme

Negotiation

Kennedys Advancing Negotiation Skills (KANS)

K.A.N.S. builds competence and confidence where it counts across the table, under pressure, and when the odds are against you. The result: fewer mistakes, smarter decisions, and stronger deals.

Strategy, Negotiation & Governance

Mastering Strategic Negotiations
(MSN)

It gives more experienced negotiators the skills to tackle complex, multi-party negotiations

Negotiation

Professional Negotiation Coaching (PNC)

Provides managers with a number of tools to reinforce effective use of skills taught in KANS for lasting behavior change.

No matter whom you negotiate with, what’s at stake, or which cultures your counterparts come from whether interests align or conflict your edge lies in situational awareness, readiness, and negotiation acumen. It comes from understanding how people negotiate across the world, recognizing the common phases that underpin all negotiations, and applying strategic behaviors proven to work most effectively when used in the right phase.

Who Is This For?

It’s for those accountable for what happens when it counts. when terms are on the table, stakeholders are watching, and the outcome defines value, trust, or risk.

What Does KANS Teach?

  • There is a behavioural process underpinning every negotiation. We call it the 8 Step/Four Phase Approach®
  • Recognise the structure behind all negotiations and manage them as a phased process
  • Our negotek® preparation method defines clear tradables, negotiable ranges, and priority-led outcomes, so you never enter a deal without leverage
  • Develop strategic control by managing movement, holding discipline, and trading only on condition
  • Kennedy’s 8 Step/Four Phase helps you identify which phase you are in and everyone one in the room and apply behaviours appropriate for the effective and successful execution of that phase

The result: faster, more profitable, and more resilient relationships, deals, and outcomes with customers, suppliers, and internal stakeholders. 

50 years of experience

Grounded in behavioural science. Proven in real-world outcomes.

Kennedys Advancing Negotiation Skills (KANS) Programme distills over five decades of behavioural research into one integrated, field-tested system.
It has delivered billions in negotiated value across sectors, industries, and deal types, shaping negotiators to secure the best deal, every time.

Extensive portfolio

Direct, strategic, and scalable

Build a deep, practical, and commercially proven negotiation methodology to plan and execute complex deals, influence key stakeholders, and deliver measurable outcomes across pricing, M&A, strategic change, dealmaking, and organisational alignment.

Practice to Performance

Great Negotiators Aren’t Born.

They’re Built. This programme drives a continuous improvement journey—recalibrating behaviours through simulation, feedback, and reinforcement.
Until composure under pressure, phase control, and conditional trade become instinct.

Key Elements of the Kennedys Advancing Negotiation Skills Programme

The programme is built around three core disciplines: Situational awareness, disciplined movement management, and execution under pressure.

Together, these sharpen how negotiators read the room, govern the deal, and deliver outcomes when the stakes are high

Recognise which phase they’re in—and which one you’re in. Negotiation is never linear

Manage the right movement for each phase

Adapt skillfully—balancing flexibility, conditionality, and control

Negotiation Masterclass

Build negotiation acumen to prepare, position, and execute your strategic imperatives

Executive Track

Negotiating with Regulators

Negotiating with Regulators

Executive Track

Board & Investor Negotiation

Negotiating with Boards & Executive Stakeholders

Executive Track

Re-Negotiation Strategy

Mid-cycle resets, long-term contract realignment

Commercial Track

JVs & M&A Alliance Success

Ensuring that the negotiation of joint ventures, and strategic alliances deliver optimal outcomes and profitable financial results.

Commercial Track

Private Equity Negotiations Dynamics

coming soon

Internal Alignment & Operational Negotiation

Negotiation Governance for Boards

(Cross-functional / Operational Alignment)

Internal Alignment & Operational Negotiation

Negotiating Internally

(Cross-functional / Operational Alignment)

Internal Alignment & Operational Negotiation

Stakeholder Management for Executives

(Cross-functional / Operational Alignment)

Public sector negotiation

Constructive Feedback, Debate and Negotiation

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Public sector negotiation

The 4 Phases Framework for Negotiation and Leadership

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Commercial Track

Sales-Focused Negotiation Performance

Helping sales teams maximize the value they create as they sell, avoid costly concessions in the sales process, and manage price pressure from customers.

Commercial Track

Negotiating with Government Procurement

Negotiating with Regulators

Commercial Track

Sales-Focused Negotiation Performance

Relationships built through effective negotiation pays dividends long into the future.

Commercial Track

Channel

Channels built through effective negotiation pays dividends long into the future.

Commercial Track

Supplier Relationship Profitability

Building profitability by managing costs while improving the quality of supplier relationships.

Internal Alignment & Operational Negotiation

Stakeholder Management for Executives

(Cross-functional / Operational Alignment)

Executive Track

Re-Negotiation Strategy

Mid-cycle resets, long-term contract realignment

Executive Track

Negotiating with Regulators

Negotiating with Regulators

Executive Track

Re-Negotiation Strategy

Mid-cycle resets, long-term contract realignment

Commercial Track

Negotiating with Government Procurement

Commercial Track

JVs & M&A Alliance Success

Ensuring that the negotiation of joint ventures, and strategic alliances deliver optimal outcomes and profitable financial results.

Commercial Track

JVs & M&A Alliance Success

Ensuring that the negotiation of joint ventures, and strategic alliances deliver optimal outcomes and profitable financial results.

Executive Track

Re-Negotiation Strategy

Mid-cycle resets, long-term contract realignment

Internal Alignment & Operational Negotiation

Stakeholder Management for Executives

(Cross-functional / Operational Alignment)

Executive Track

Negotiating with Regulators

Negotiating with Regulators

Executive Track

Healing Customer

Handling Difficult Situations, Providing a framework for managing challenging conversations

Public sector negotiation

Negotiation in Policy Development

Policy Development & Stakeholder Alignment Negotiation Strategic Negotiation in Policy Design

Exclusively for women

Negotiating Women Workshop

Training By Level

All of our negotiation courses are specifically tailored to the challenges faced and skills needed at each level, whether a negotiator is building core skills, managing live deals, or leading complex, multi-level, multi-party negotiations.

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