Traditional advice recommends not mixing business and family but this could mean losing out on the potential rewards of working with those close to us and other potentially lucrative business opportunities. Inevitably, family members in business together will have to negotiate with each other. So what is the best way to ensure both a successful negotiation and continued positive relationships? One … read more »

Basic negotiation skills may seem easy to apply in business situations but what about when business and family collide? For example, a 69-year-old CEO of a large financial firm that has been in his family for three generations is considering retirement. He has three children who may be interested in taking over the business in addition to several well-qualified senior … read more »

In his book How to Negotiate with Kids…Even When You Think You Shouldn’t (Viking, 2003), Scott Brown, a co-founder of the Harvard Negotiation Project at Harvard Law School, outlines a framework for dealing with your children using the principles of negotiation. He identifies six principles of “persuasive parenting” that will allow you and your child to successfully negotiate durable, creative resolutions … read more »

Negotiating with your children may seem counterintuitive but parents can build stronger relationships with them by implementing a problem-solving approach when trying to resolve family conflicts. In his book How to Negotiate with Kids…Even When You Think You Shouldn’t (Viking, 2003), Scott Brown, a founder of the Harvard Negotiation Project at Harvard Law School, outlines a framework for dealing with … read more »