You have a telephone appointment with your counterpart in a big negotiation at 2 pm. It’s going to be a critical conversation as you received your counterpart’s extremely aggressive first offer last week, and you have not yet responded. If you come across as too...
“When somebody says it’s not about the money, it’s about the money,” noted writer H.L. Mencken and others. This applies in many negotiations. But not always. In fact, this has not been true for the third highest compensated college basketball coach in the...
I am unaware of any research into the negotiating habits of monkeys. But the monkeys in Bali do negotiate – at least with humans – and apparently do it fairly well. This week’s column is based on BBC Planet Earth’s 3-minute video (here’s the LINK) entitled The...
I’m a planner, as a core element of what I teach involves creating Strategic Negotiation Plans based on the experts’ proven research. To implement proven negotiation strategies in a systematic, disciplined way, you must plan and think it through before you pick...
I’m In the behavior modification business. I try to change negotiation behavior from instinctive or intuitive – the way we have negotiated since we were toddlers – to strategic based on the experts’ proven research. I’ve been doing this for almost 30 years, and...
I wrote a column in 2011 entitled “In Person Talks Often Best Option” for The Arizona Republic. Given the timeliness of this subject as many CFOs and others contemplate the money saved with employees Zooming from home and staying away from airports, I thought I would...
The two most expensive letters in the English alphabet are “O.K.,” which is how many respond when offered a raise. After all, many don’t want to appear greedy or unappreciative by asking for more – even when you deserve it. It can also be scary, as there is always a...
As we put 2020 in our rearview mirror, here’s my annual list of lessons learned and a reminder to put these strategies into practice in 2021. You won’t get better results unless you implement them. Each guiding principle also has a link to my column with more...
Do “Nice Guys” actually have an advantage in negotiations? It’s commonly thought that cut-throat, dog-eat-dog negotiators win, but what’s the truth? I was nervous when I started Harvard Law School in 1989. I had heard what they told incoming...