Improve Your Negotiations With The 5 Golden Rules.   LEARN THEM

Building Your Negotiation Library

I was recently asked by someone new to negotiation what books to read first. Here are the five I suggested. 1. Gain the Edge! Negotiating to Get What You Want by Martin Latz. Of course I recommended my book first! My goal in writing Gain the Edge was to develop a...

ExpertNegotiator’s Blog Turns 5

We’ve been blogging about negotiation for five years now. To commemorate our anniversary, here is an excerpt from our first post, which explains our purpose – to help you become a better negotiator: Why is learning about negotiation important? Because...

Be Prepared/Leverage is Fluid

Kellogg announced today it is buying Procter & Gamble’s Pringles business for $2.7 billion. Last April, Diamond Foods outbid Kellogg and signed a deal with P&G to buy Pringles for $2.4 billion in a mostly stock-based transaction. That deal was derailed by an...

When to Walk

The New York Times reported yesterday that Dollar Thrifty took itself off the market after more than a year of negotiations with potential purchasers.  In August, Dollar Thrifty asked bidders to submit their “best and final offers.”  Avis withdrew from the process in...

The Walkout

CNN.com reported today that just resumed “talks between North and South Korea collapsed” after “the North Korean delegation walked away from the negotiating table less than five hours after the second round of talks had begun.” Why would your counterpart walk out?...

Dilbert and Weak Alternatives

In last Sunday’s Dilbert cartoon, Dilbert requests permission from his boss to attend a class to update his skills.  His boss asks for alternatives and Dilbert provides several comic responses including, “replace me with someone younger who earns less than I do and...

Responding to Emotional Outbursts

In light of Bill O’Reilly’s contentious appearance on ABC’s The View, which culminated with Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar walking off the set, here are three negotiating tips to consider when strong emotions erupt in the negotiation context. 1.  Don’t immediately...

Politics and the Relationship Factor

I recently appeared on Fox Business with Neil Cavuto to discuss the souring relationship between the White House and the Republican congressional leadership and its potential impact on their future negotiations. Since this raises critical negotiation issues, I thought...