About 15 years ago I started a negotiation software company and began a series of some of my most professionally challenging negotiations. Failing at any of them could have marked the death knell of the company. Here are three lessons I learned from those start-up...
Mistakes happen in negotiation and in life. Our challenge? How to avoid them. Last month I described five common negotiation mistakes. Here are five more. Mistake #6: Underestimating the value of personal likeability I do about 50 percent of my training for lawyers...
I have a confession to make – despite having spent an enormous amount of time in the last 25 years studying, teaching and consulting on negotiations full-time, I have made some negotiation mistakes. In fact, I would suggest that everyone – even the most...
I was shocked and dismayed a year ago when millions of us were grounded and effectively sentenced to house arrest as the world confronted the pandemic that upended many of our lives and livelihoods. Since then, we have all personally and professionally adapted in...
I was recently debating a public policy issue with my 15-year-old son, who has recently become enamored with a view quite different from my own. As the back-and-forth wound down without either of us substantially changing our opinions, he said he had “won” the debate....
“Let me suggest a few options – each of which would be acceptable to us,” I said to the furniture store manager. “Either provide us with 80 percent of our money back for the practically unused piece of furniture we purchased, or give us a credit – to be used in your...
“What’s the single-biggest mistake most individuals make in their negotiations?” a seminar participant once asked me. “And what can they do about it?” The biggest mistake? Most individuals negotiate instinctively, not strategically. Assume you’ve always wanted to own...
I recently decided to hire a publicist to help with the publicity for my first book. While my publisher assigned its own publicist, my agent recommended that I also hire a publicist to augment its efforts. Since almost every businessperson has undertaken negotiations...
“I left a fortune on the table because I went against my instincts in that negotiation,” a highly successful businessman and real estate developer told me recently. “Yet I know it’s critical to negotiate strategically and not just rely on your...
