Negotiation Strategies with Plumbers and other Contractors (Part One)
I’m not much of a handyman. In fact, my father-in-law warns me all the time to stop overtightening everything. And he watches me with an eagle eye whenever I use any of his tools (and he has a veritable hardware store in his garage). It’s just not my skillset....
Expert Panel’s Lessons Learned
I recently led a negotiation ethics seminar with an expert panel that included: the Dallas Mavericks’ General Manager and President of Basketball Operations, a U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals judge, and a large law firm partner. Since they collectively have over 150...
Caitlin Clark’s Leverage and Non-Competes
WNBA number 1 draft pick and college superstar Caitlin Clark recently agreed to a Nike endorsement deal that pays her $28 million over 8 years plus a signature shoe, according to The Athletic and The Wall Street Journal. And the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) just...
Negotiation Strategies for Divorcing Parties (Part Two)
I’m told there’s almost nothing more personal and emotionally challenging than a divorce. Even divorces without kids, where the spouses have just grown apart but still want a future relationship, can present significant challenges. So how can parties effectively...
Negotiation Strategies for Divorcing Parties (Part One)
I’m often asked to identify my most challenging negotiation, and my answer for the last 21 years has always been the same – with my wife! The second most challenging one? With my kids. Most family negotiations have all the elements of extremely tough negotiations....
Similarities in Poker and Negotiation Strategies
I’ve always enjoyed poker, in part due to its similarities to negotiation: strategy, bluffing, reading others’ intentions, significant stakes, crucial verbal and non-verbal signals, split-second decisions with immediate consequences and feedback, and the list goes on....
Real Estate Agents’ Compensation Negotiations (Part Two)
How much should a home buyer or seller pay their real estate agent? Historically, the answer was 6% of the home sale price, split equally by the seller’s and buyer’s agents. But that amount was basically set by the National Association of Realtors, real estate agents’...
Real Estate Agents’ Commission Negotiations (Part One)
Most real estate agents consider themselves pretty good negotiators. After all, home buyers and sellers have been hiring agents for years to negotiate the purchase price of their homes (often the biggest financial transaction of their lives). Recently, however,...
Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo’s Unusual Negotiation Approach
“When somebody says it’s not about the money, it’s about the money,” noted writer H.L. Mencken and others. This applies in many negotiations. But not always. In fact, this has not been true for the third highest compensated college basketball coach in the...
What’s Important to You
Years ago in law school, I was taught to pay particularly close attention to any inconsistencies I noticed in litigation from our opponents – whether in depositions, motions or at trial. I was told to analyze their words, strategic moves, and tone and body language....