Adapted from “Can You Break the Cycle of Bad Communication?” by Susan Hackley, Managing Director, the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School.

“What happened?”
“How did a pleasant discussion turn sour?”
“Why did the deal unravel at the last minute?”

If you’ve ever come away from a negotiation asking questions like this, poor communication may be to blame, write Roger Fisher, William Ury, … read more »

Director
James K. Sebenius

Founder and Director Emeritus
Roger Fisher

Associate Director
Daniel L. Shapiro

Global Negotiation
William Ury, Director
Joshua Weiss, Associate Director

Distinguished Fellow
Bruce Patton

Fellow
Jason Cheng Qian

Senior Adviser
Mark Gordon

Affiliates
Sheila Heen
Douglas Stone

The Project, or HNP as it is commonly known, was created in 1979 and was one of the founding organizations of the Program on Negotiation consortium. The work of faculty, staff, and students associated with HNP routinely … read more »

Join William Ury for a discussion about his latest book, The Power of a Positive No. In it he argues that the key skill we need in today’s world of high stress and expanding choices is the ability to say “No.” He will talk about how we can set limits and stand up for what is important without damaging valuable … read more »

The Abraham Path Initiative, conceptualized and studied for several years under the auspices of the Global Negotiation Project at Harvard University, doesn’t intend to ignore or overcome the political realities of the Middle East. Rather, it seeks to increase contact between average people, on a point of reference to which followers of all three major monotheistic religions can relate.

“We’re not … read more »

Listen to the podcast of William Ury describing the “Positive No” from his new book with stories of Stephen Spielberg and Hugo Chavez.

No is perhaps the most important and certainly the most powerful word in the language. Every day we find ourselves in situations where we need to say No — to people at work, at home, and in … read more »

Click here to listen to the podcast of Ury describing the “Positive No” from his new book with stories of Stephen Spielberg and Hugo Chavez.

Click here to watch the video of Ury discussing his book.

No is perhaps the most important and certainly the most powerful word in the language. Every day we find ourselves in situations where we need to … read more »

Mark Brzezinski, a Washington lawyer who served on the National Security Council staff, and Ray Takeyh, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, discuss how some rules from Getting to Yes can apply to US challenges in Iran.

Read the op-ed in The Boston Globe. … read more »

The nonviolent principles of Mohandas Gandhi may be the only way to bring peace to the world, Gandhi’s granddaughter said Monday (Dec. 4).

Human rights activist and former South African member of parliament Ela Gandhi told about 160 people gathered in Harvard Law School’s Pound Hall that violent victory sows the seeds of its own destruction. It is only through nonviolent … read more »

Webcast
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Speaker:
Jim Tull

Jim Tull will share his own theory-to-practice experience in discussing his 1992 Nicaraguan Recompa abduction and subsequent negotiated release. After being taken hostage with several co-workers, Jim successfully applied his understanding of the theory from Getting to Yes to help diffuse a potentially tragic event. In his talk, Jim will describe the event and … read more »

Speakers:
Roger Fisher
Daniel Shapiro

Roger Fisher and Daniel Shapiro will be discussing ideas from their new book, Beyond Reason: Using Emotions as You Negotiate (Viking, 2005). The book has benefited from the thinking of many people, including participants of previous DRF Forums. During their talk, Fisher and Shapiro will offer practical ideas to help negotiators deal with emotions –- their own and … read more »