One Response to “Tempering Your Temper”

  1. Chad Ellis /

    I think two other considerations are at least as important as those cited in the article: 1. What is the scope for value creation in the negotiation? 2. What are the reputation consequences of this negotiation? Representing anger may be helpful in a non-iterative, single-issue negotiation where no ongoing relationship is needed post deal, but the true costs of anger are likely to show up in other situations. If you concede most of the pie to me due to perceived anger, how much will you look forward to working with me if our deal involves ongoing collaboration? If I'm angry every time we negotiate, how long before you look for other partners or become genuinely angry yourself? How conducive is anger to building trust? How do you ask for post-deal collaboration to improve the deal for both sides when you've represented anger throughout the process? Growing the pie is difficult enough without adding anger to the mix. Is anger a potential tool? Sure. But even setting aside the ethical issues of feigning anger, it's a very risky tool and one that I'd argue will yield a negative return in the most important deals. Reply

Leave a Comment