Negotiation Columns & Blogs
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History of Mel Brooks’ Negotiations, Part 3
I apologize to anyone who doesn’t like Mel Brooks (is this even possible?) – but I found his negotiation stories irresistible. And we can all learn invaluable lessons from them. So here are 3 more in Part 3, the final chapter (I promise). For those who missed Part 1...
History of Mel Brooks’ Negotiations, Part 2
I know Mel Brooks did not make a History of the World, Part 2 – but I found too many great stories illustrating negotiation lessons to leave his own history of negotiations at Part 1. So here are three more from his autobiography All About Me! My Remarkable Life in...
History of Mel Brooks’ Negotiations, Part 1
Blazing Saddles. Young Frankenstein. The Producers. History of the World, Part 1. Spaceballs. High Anxiety. Mel Brooks created some of the world’s funniest movies, including several of my all-time favorites. But I never associated him or his movies with negotiation....
The 30-Minute Strategic Negotiation Plan
“I only have about 30 minutes to strategically plan for this negotiation. And I know I should spend more time planning, but I have a ton going on right now. What should I do?” I get this question a lot. We are all busy and time-pressed. Given this, here is my...
Hypotheticals Help with Aggressive Negotiators
“How can we more effectively negotiate with these aggressive lawyers on the other side? They argue over every issue. I generally know how to deal with them, but is there a specific move or tactic you would recommend?” This question, posed by a potential client this...
A.I. Increases Impact of Negotiation Skills
Does success at your job require top-notch negotiation skills? Are you in sales, purchasing/procurement, business development or customer service? Are you a lawyer, business consultant, executive, investment banker, or private equity partner? Does your job require you...
Effective responses to intimidation tactics
He swore at me in front of my client. I was really surprised. I was a young lawyer at the time, and he was the opposing counsel and managing partner of a prominent law firm. I had requested documents that his associate had promised, and that my client had flown in to...
Lessons from Japan
We just returned from a family trip to Japan, and I couldn’t help but consider some of the culturally different negotiation approaches – and the lessons we can learn from them. Here are three. Of course, these are broad and general tendencies. And exceptions abound,...
What To Do With Huge Bid Variations
We recently solicited bids to repaint our house from three residential painters/painting companies, all of whom came recommended by friends or family. We also requested bids for an upcoming home renovation. (Yes – our house needs some work!). Despite having gone...
Leverage Dominates in Some VC Negotiations (Part Two)
Masayoshi Son had “earned a reputation as the Bill Gates of Japan” by making it big with the software distributor SoftBank. According to Sebastian Mallaby in The Power Law: Venture Capital and the Making of the New Future, while Son’s “childhood home was a squatter’s...
Negotiation Lessons from the Venture Capital World (Part One)
Bob Metcalfe, the inventor of the Ethernet computer-networking technology and founder of a tech company sold in 2010 to Hewlett-Packard for $2.7 billion, called this negotiation tactic of a potential venture capital investor the “Oh-by-the-Way Syndrome.” Here’s what...
Is Unpredictability an Effective Strategy?
“Does it help or hurt to be unpredictable in a negotiation,” I am often asked these days. Let me give you a great legal answer – it depends! What does it depend upon? 1. A future relationship with your counterpart Do you have, expect and/or want a future relationship...
Negotiating For Your First Job
Our son recently interviewed for internships this summer (he’s a Northwestern University junior double majoring in computer science and psychology). It got me thinking about one of the most consequential negotiations of our lives, our first real career opportunity....
Lessons Learned from 2025
Here is my annual list of lessons learned and links to the columns that more extensively address these strategies. Don’t forget to implement these in 2026! How you communicate and the tone of your voice – your pitch, inflection, pace, volume, emphasis and general...
Lessons Learned from Condo Sale
My mom recently closed on the sale of her condo, and I just debriefed on the negotiation with our real estate agent. Here is what we learned. We all can benefit from these. 1. Homework paid off with the right real estate agent. I interviewed four real estate agents,...
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