I listed my house in 2003 at an aggressive price. I had been tracking the sales of comparable homes for eight years and had a good idea of what I could get. But you never know. So in setting my goal and determining my list price, I also asked two experts for advice:...
The telephone rang and caller ID showed a number starting with zeros. He was calling from South America and wanted to purchase the rights to something I owned. I was intrigued. The call was undoubtedly pricey, so I figured he must be serious. He was. The opening...
The vast majority of business professionals and lawyers acknowledge the value of strategic planning. “Of course strategic planning makes sense,” they admit. “We do it all the time, especially in setting our goals.” Yet many of these same...
Let’s say you’re driving to work, your cell rings, and it’s your negotiation counterpart. You answer the phone. Before you say a word, who has the advantage? Your counterpart. Why? No matter how bright you are or how good you are on your feet, you’re probably not...
“I don’t have time to plan for my negotiations.” “Too many unknown variables exist to plan for our negotiations.” “We’ll plan – but in our heads. Formal planning would be superfluous and wasteful.” “My colleagues are bright, experienced and have great instincts....
In 1979, U.S. Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware was heading to Moscow when the Senate leadership asked him to meet with Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko and negotiate an amendment to the SALT II arms-control treaty. Biden was told the Senate would not ratify the treaty...
A successful businesswoman once asked me to negotiate for her in buying out her partner’s interest in a piece of property. The negotiation, as sometimes occurs in partnership disputes gone bad, was ugly. Unfortunately, their relationship was poor. In fact, at one...
You know the type: super-competitive, hard-nosed risk-takers always out to “win.” You also know the opposite type: conflict avoiders. They dislike any conflict, especially the interpersonal kind. And they value peace and quiet above most everything. How we naturally...
Remember the classic television show “Columbo?” In it, Detective Frank Columbo was a bumbling detective who investigated high-profile murders. Huge egos surrounded him. Often, wealthy businessmen or politicians would be under suspicion, and eager prosecutors would...
