“He was demanding, unorganized and he didn’t know what he really wanted. And he took a shotgun approach to the issues, all of which needed to be resolved immediately. It lasted six months, and it was incredibly frustrating.” This comment by a client sums up a...
William Shatner in his Priceline commercials portrays a caricature of the aggressive, adversarial, competitive and slightly sleazy negotiator who wheels and deals to get you the best prices. And he gets them – in the commercials. But do these characteristics in...
What do the NFL, NBA, and federal budget negotiations all have in common? Highly successful parties at the table, many of whom over their careers have developed significant egos. Since we all have egos, why should you care? Because you should use certain techniques...
“How can we evaluate the negotiation ability of our managers, sales people and others who negotiate on behalf of our company?” I was recently asked by a client. “After all, we only rarely get the opportunity to really find out what they left on the...
Ron told me to put up my dukes. So I did. And we went at it. It was in our basement. Ron, my older brother, was 11. I was 10. My dad, a former Golden Gloves boxer, had taught us to box so we could defend ourselves. Ron and I occasionally fought over the usual sibling...
I was surprised. Instead of working with me to resolve the challenge we unexpectedly faced, he immediately said he would see me in court and didn’t express any regret for partially contributing to the situation. His seemingly knee-jerk reaction was not a smart...
Do nice negotiators tend to finish last — or “lose” more often — in their negotiations? And if so, how can they protect themselves from this tendency and be more effective? This is a central dilemma for many nice negotiators. When faced with an...
A client recently asked for advice concerning his negotiation to collect a $17,000 bill from a customer. The relationship had deteriorated in part due to a major personality conflict, and his customer – after agreeing to pay the balance – changed her mind and sent...
“How should my wife deal with bullies,” this seminar attendee asked me. She works for a large software company, he said, and helps implement their systems at customers’ offices. And their customers regularly try to bully her into providing a lot more services and...
