Negotiation Columns & Blogs

n December, GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt disclosed NBC would lose an estimated $200 million on the Winter Olympics. In a New York Times article yesterday, Dick Ebersol, chairman of NBC Universal Sports, said he would have preferred that Immelt wait to reveal the losses until...

In light of Toyota's unprecedented decision to recall and stop selling eight car models, this New York Times excerpt caught my attention: "In its drive to become No. 1 in worldwide sales, Toyota may have left its reputation vulnerable." The Tokyo Shimbun went so far...

The PGA Tour's current television deal with CBS and NBC expires in 2012 and negotiations for a new contract are expected to begin soon. For obvious reasons, both sides are closely following Tiger Woods' recent travails. So what negotiation lessons come to mind?...

The New York Times reported this week that at least three groups submitted offers to the Tribune Company on Monday in the latest round of bidding to purchase the Chicago Cubs baseball team. This is good news for the Tribune because the odds usually favor the seller in...

About 25,000 grocery store employees have threatened to strike against two supermarkets in Arizona if a negotiated agreement isn't reached by Friday. Several news stories have appeared about workers protesting against their union's plan. How might this internal...

As President Obama continues his first presidential trip to Asia, much attention has been focused on his negotiation approach and whether he has achieved noteworthy results. Obviously, a whole range of difficult, complex and long-term issues are being addressed,...

The on-going negotiation between the NBA and their locked-out referees provides a very useful negotiation lesson to anyone who has a boss, board or a constituency. First, to summarize the negotiation's current status, a deal had been tentatively struck last month...

An important part of every negotiation is identifying what information you need from your counterpart and then getting it. Effective information gathering will not occur unless you create the appropriate atmosphere. One information gathering technique I recommend is...

A recent article in The New York Times suggests that ‘with the recession continuing in full force," you should "(c)losely analyze every contract you have and look for places where you think you can get a cost reduction. Then ask for better terms." The article...

As the deadline approaches for Fiat and Chrysler to reach a merger agreement, several classic negotiation tactics are in full display. The U.S. Government's imposition of an end-of-the-month deadline adds both a sense of urgency and scarcity to the negotiation dynamic...

The future of the Formula One racing series is uncertain after negotiations between the FIA, the sport's governing body, and FOTA, the racing teams' association, broke down over the FIA's plan to impose a budget cap for next season. Last Friday, eight of the twelve...

In many sophisticated negotiations, each party will find independent standards like market value, precedent, expert opinions, etc., that favor their side and will use their most favorable standards to independently justify the "fairness" of their positions. The...

CIT Group, a US commercial lender, is negotiating with its bondholders to exchange a portion of its debt for equity. To increase its leverage, it is simultaneously preparing to apply for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection - and default on $800 million in debt due next...

Poor planning is the first mistake identified in an article about negotiation pitfalls on the Stanford Graduate School of Business website. I have long emphasized that our biggest challenge as negotiators - and managers of negotiators - is to change our planning and...