When it comes to business negotiations, you probably understand the importance of being as principled as possible to protect your reputation and ward off legal trouble. You probably expect your counterparts to follow the straight and narrow as well. Yet negotiators often have only a fuzzy grasp of which claims and strategies are legal and which aren’t. As a consequence, … read more »

In this video, Eileen Babbitt, Director of the International Negotiation and Conflict Resolution Program at Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, outlines three types of obstacles that generate barriers in negotiations, and how to move beyond them. This video includes excerpts from a session taught by Dr. Babbitt at the Program on Negotiation for Senior Executives.

To learn more about … read more »

Adapted from “Contracts 101: What Every Negotiator Should Know about Contract and Agency Law” by Guhan Subramanian (professor, Harvard Business School and Harvard Law School), first published in the Negotiation newsletter, February 2006.

While hammering out an agreement, a mid-level manager offered a customer a significant price discount. When the discount failed to materialize, the customer sued. In response, company representatives … read more »

Adapted from “Before You Sign on the Dotted Line…”first published in the Negotiation newsletter, May 2009.

After reaching an agreement, professionals often rely on their lawyers to draw up the official contract. Unfortunately, miscommunication between negotiators and their lawyers often leads to costly mistakes. Contract terms may not accurately represent the negotiated agreement, key deal terms could be missing, or clauses … read more »

Adapted from “What to Do When the Table Gets Crowded,” first published in the Negotiation newsletter, May 2008.

Negotiators often have to deal with more than one party to reach their goals. These situations pose unique challenges, yet most negotiation advice focuses on talks between two parties.

Where can we turn for guidance? For many years, Harvard Business School professors James Sebenius … 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 of business today. Or suppose … read more »

Adapted from “A Contingent Contract? Weigh the Costs and Benefits of Making a ‘Bet’,” by Guhan Subramanian (professor, Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School), first published in the Negotiation newsletter, August 2006.

Contracts in professional sports are often chock-full of contingencies -“bets” that parties place on their different expectations of future outcomes – and former National Football League running back … read more »

Understanding how to arrange the meeting space is a key aspect of preparing for negotiation. In this video, Guhan Subramanian, professor at Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School, discusses a real world example of how seating arrangements can influence a negotiator’s success. The discussion was held in his negotiation training workshop “Setting the Stage for Productive Negotiations” in the … read more »

Adapted from “On the Block: Choose the Best Type of Auction,” by Guhan Subramanian (professor, Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School) and Richard Zeckhauser (professor, Harvard Kennedy School), first published in the Negotiation newsletter, December 2004.

Suppose you’ve weighed the pros and cons of selling an asset via auction or negotiation and decided an auction is the best choice. What … read more »

Adapted from “When You Hold All the Cards,” by Guhan Subramanian (professor, Harvard Business School and Harvard Law School), first published in the Negotiation newsletter.

Being the more powerful party in a negotiation doesn’t guarantee a free ride. Specifically, legal rules may constrain your actions. In particular, the courts might read additional terms into the deal that favor your counterpart even … read more »