Adapted from “Poise under Pressure: The Well-Balanced Negotiator,” by Michael Wheeler (professor, Harvard Business School), first published in the Negotiation newsletter, December 2006.
Too many people overlook the fact that negotiation is a demanding physical act. They cram for negotiations, pulling all-nighters in an attempt to master each and every detail—only to become irritable and fuzzy … Read Reducing Negotiation Stress 
Adapted from “Option Overload? Manage the Options on the Table,” by Chris Guthrie (professor, Vanderbilt University Law School), first published in the Negotiation newsletter, August 2007.
When choosing among multiple options, negotiators should identify and evaluate the relevant attributes of each option and, if possible, make tradeoffs among them. This approach requires us to factor in … Read What’s Relevant?
Michael Wheeler (MBA Class of 1952 Professor of Management Practice, Harvard Business School)
How do you decide between two promising options in a negotiation? In this article, the author outlines techniques for picking the best possible deal.
Read more
For more information about Professor Wheeler, click here. … Read How to Choose the Best Deal
Adapted from “Evenhanded Decision Making,” first published in the Negotiation newsletter, May 2006.
As discussed in past issues of the Negotiation newsletter, anchoring and framing can bias important decisions in negotiation. A buyer may make a more generous offer than she intended, for example, after a seller drops anchor on a bold demand. A litigant who … Read The Ambidextrous Negotiator
Adapted from “The Deal Is Done—Now What?” by Jeswald W. Salacuse (professor, Tufts University), first published in the Negotiation newsletter, November 2005.
Whether you’re manufacturing audio components in China, providing data-processing services in Chicago, or constructing a cement plant in Cheyenne, Wyoming, the quality of your relationship with a contractual partner is often the difference … Read Will Your Deal Thrive in the Real World?
Adapted from “Don’t Get Stuck in the Status Trap,” first published in the Negotiation newsletter, September 2009.
Graduating MBA students often tend to choose their first postgraduate jobs based on vivid aspects of their job offers, such as a high starting salary or the prestige of the firm, Harvard Business School professor Max H. Bazerman has … Read How to Avoid the Status Trap
Lawrence Susskind (Ford Professor of Urban and Environmental Planning, The Massachusetts Institute of Technology; author of Built to Win; co-author of Breaking Robert’s Rules and Breaking the Impasse)
Making public policy about energy has been a scattered, uncoordinated disaster. In this posting, the author argues for a negotiated, consensus building approach to energy planning.
Read More … Read Getting Agreement on Energy Policies and Plans
Professor Daniel Shapiro, Associate Director of the Harvard Mediation Project, has been selected as one of four 2011 Burke Global Health Fellows by the Harvard Global Health Institute. During his fellowship, Professor Shapiro will develop materials for a new Harvard course designed to train leaders on how to mediate conflicts with a strong emotional or … Read Shapiro named 2011 Burke Global Health Fellow
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 … Read Could Your Power Trip Backfire?
Adapted from “Write First, Talk Later? Using Drafts to Make Deals,” by Jeswald Salacuse (professor, Tufts University), first published in the Negotiation newsletter.
How can you gain an edge when you’re in the seemingly weak position of negotiating a favor from a government or a powerful bureaucracy? Present the other side with a draft agreement that … Read Dealing with Busy People
Max H. Bazerman (Jesse Isidor Straus Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School) and Deepak Malhotra (Associate Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School)
Intuition can sabotage your negotiations without your awareness. In this article, the authors explore why we often think irrationally and reveal four practical strategies for how and when to abandon intuition … Read When Not to Trust Your Gut
In an op-ed article in today’s edition of The New York Times, Max H. Bazerman, Straus Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School, and Ann E. Tenbrunsel, Martin Professor of Business Ethics at the University of Notre Dame, discuss the reasons why ethical lapses occur so often in business settings.
According to … Read Stumbling Into Bad Behavior
