As my law school colleague Barack Obama enters the final few months of his presidency, I’ve been thinking about legacies. As a father, I’ve crafted a short list of negotiation tips, with the hope that my kids might benefit from the most crucial lessons I...
The mediation process encompasses a series of negotiations. Parties negotiate with each other. Counsel negotiate with parties and other counsel. And everyone negotiates with the mediator. An attorney participating in a mediation should remember that dealings wit the...
“What should I do differently when negotiating with someone in Japan or from another culture,” I’m often asked. “Should I still use the strategies you recommend in your book and your seminars?” Absolutely. And yet, cross-cultural...
We arrived at the dealership on Dec. 28. Our goal? Find out as much as possible about the new sports car I had been eyeing. Two hours later, goal accomplished, we walked out. But I was hooked. The car cornered like a dream. And I needed safe, reliable and fun...
The new home was listed at about $500,000, and the builder held a live auction to sell it. It sold for $383,000 — the buyer received almost 25 percent off. “What a deal,” you might say. Personally, I don’t know if the buyer received a good deal. It depends on...
In his Harvard Business Review blog entry, How to Size Up a Negotiation, venture capitalist Anthony Tjan states that negotiators should “quantify the value of each negotiation point and of the negotiation in its entirety.” I couldn’t agree more. My First Golden Rule...
A Monet painting recently sold at auction for $80.4 million, a record for a Monet. Interestingly, experts had pegged its value and expected sale price at $36 million to $47 million. What happened? And how can you, as a possible auction participant and buyer, keep from...
My Five Golden Rules of Negotiation provide the essential building blocks for every negotiation. They are: 1. Information Is Power—So Get It 2. Maximize Your Leverage 3. Employ “Fair” Objective Criteria 4. Design an Offer-Concession Strategy 5. Control the Agenda...
Most people negotiate instinctively. They rely on their intuition or “gut.” They negotiate in an “off-the-cuff” manner and, while some are better at this than others, the typical result is that money and other important interests are left on the table. The best...
