Adapted from “Pick the Right Negotiating Team,” first published in the Negotiation newsletter, November 2007.

We’ve all seen teams and work groups implode under the stress of personality clashes. These experiences might lead you to conclude that your negotiating team should be a tight-knit and harmonious group of colleagues. Yet in their research, Leigh Thompson, … Read More 

Adapted from “Reach Your Target with Backward Mapping,” first published in the Negotiation newsletter, March 2010.

Here’s the problem: Your negotiation seems to be over before it has begun. Your targeted counterpart is refusing to sit down with you or simply ignoring your requests. How can you get her to see that she would benefit from … Read More 

Adapted from “When Lose-Lose Wins,” first published in the Negotiation newsletter, August 2004.

Does negotiation research promote the creation of joint gain at the expense of relationship building? Researchers Jared R. Curhan, Margaret A. Neale, and Lee D. Ross suggest that the field is guilty as charged.

To illustrate, the team apply author O. Henry’s classic tale … Read More 

Adapted from “The Danger of ‘Take It or Leave It,’” by Ian Larkin (professor, Harvard Business School), first published in the Negotiation newsletter, January 2010.

Imagine that one of your organization’s suppliers, with whom you have been very happy, recently lost its only other big customer. Your contract comes up for renegotiation next month. You know … Read More 

Adapted from “Negotiating With a 900-Pound Gorilla,” by Lawrence Susskind (professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology), first published in the Negotiation newsletter, February 2006.
Executives often leave the legal issues surrounding their deals to their attorneys. While this division of labor is often appropriate, negotiators can run into trouble without an awareness of the governing legal rules. … Read More 

Adapted from “Trying to Make a Sale? Avoid These Common Pitfalls,” first published in the Negotiation newsletter, April 2010.

Why is it that even in sluggish markets, some homes are plucked off the real estate listings within days or weeks, and others sit for months, even years? Location and curb appeal have something to do with … Read More 

Adapted from “The Ins and Outs of Making Sealed Bids,” by Guhan Subramanian (professor, Harvard Business School and Harvard Law School), first published in the Negotiation newsletter, July 2007.

Imagine you’re bidding for a house against another “very interested party,” according to your real-estate agent, and the seller wants a sealed bid from you by close … Read More 

Adapted from “Divide the Pie—Without Antagonizing the Other Side,” by Robert C. Bordone (professor, Harvard Law School), first published in the Negotiation newsletter, November 2006.

Even those who effectively engage in a mutual-gains approach to negotiation, in which parties work together to meet interests and maximize value, can be stymied by the task of dividing up … Read More 

Adapted from “Is Your Counterpart Rational . . . Really?” by Deepak Malhotra (professor, Harvard Business School), first published in the Negotiation newsletter, March 2006.

How can you negotiate with someone who seems irrational? First, by questioning whether it is reasonable for you to judge your counterparts as irrational. As it turns out, behavior that negotiators … Read More 

Adapted from “Managing for Better Results,” by Max H. Bazerman, first published in the Negotiation newsletter, October 2008.

If you’ve ever been disappointed by the negotiation results of your sales force, you’re not alone. There could be many reasons for your employees’ unimpressive results, but there are two most likely culprits: a failure to understand what … Read More