Negotiation Columns & Blogs

The Phoenix Coyotes professional hockey franchise is facing a bankruptcy court auction this week. One likely bidder is Jim Balsillie, co-CEO of Research In Motion (which makes the Blackberry). He wants to relocate the team to Ontario, a move opposed by the NHL. While...

In her Monday New York Times article, "Trying to Sell Your Business? Think Like a Buyer," Barbara Taylor asks, "Why is it so difficult for business owners to put themselves in the shoes of a potential buyer?" One of the main reasons is the vast majority of people...

In her Tuesday New York Times article, "So How's It Going? ," Jennifer Walzer states that she needed "to come up with a better way to track what happens in the office when I'm not there - and even when I am." She then recognizes that "if I want to provide my employees...

If you're in purchasing or procurement, how can you reduce your costs, increase your margins, and still ensure the quality of service required from your vendors? When your vendor contracts come up for renewal, bid out the contract and come up with several alternate...

In a Forbes.com article last week, Jerry Kennelly, a 30-year Silicon Valley veteran, described a negotiation he was involved in while at Inktomi, one of the first internet search engines, as follows: "There were two of us, and when we went into the room we faced 14...

A friend recently purchased a used car "as is" for around $5,000 from a dealer. About 45 days later the transmission tanked. Unfortunately, the problem appeared after the state "lemon law" warranty expired. My friend obtained several estimates for the repair, the...

I don't usually read Hollywood gossip stories but this headline from USA Today, "Kate Walsh, ex to divide assets by flipping a coin" caught my attention. Why? Because it illustrates what you can do when you just can't find an objective standard like market value,...

Wal-Mart recently provided an example of how you can obtain a better deal by making your counterpart's less attractive alternative, or Plan B, a reality. According to a recent CNNMoney.com article, Wal-Mart recently removed Arm & Hammer liquid laundry detergent...

In its Small Business Questions & Answers section, CNNMoney.com suggests one way to fairly set employee salaries is to rely on third-party salary surveys. Why? Because relying on independent standards, like a third-party salary survey, (1) gives you credibility,...

Hertz Global Holdings Inc. recently announced its plans to buy Dollar Thrifty for $1.2 billion, about $41 per share.  Almost immediately, the standards dance began in the negotiation between Hertz and Dollar’s shareholders, which must approve the deal.  Yesterday, a...

In a recent New York Times article compiling consumer dispute resolution tips submitted by readers, a frequent suggestion was to simply ask, “What would you do if you were in my situation?”  The contributors reported this typically led to the sharing of helpful...

Federally-mandated negotiations began recently to resolve an on-going labor dispute between Boeing and striking aircraft workers in Long Beach, California.  Federal mediators from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service convened the negotiations and previously...

At one of my recent negotiation seminars, a participant shared the following story.  A product manufacturer was involved in a dispute with a trade magazine regarding several negative product reviews.  The manufacturer was unhappy because it believed the reviews were...