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.

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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 “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  

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 

Adapted from “Putting Negotiation Training to Work,” by Max H. Bazerman (professor, Harvard Business School), first published in the Negotiation newsletter.

Many executives read books and newsletters to improve their negotiating skills. Many also take time out of their busy work lives to attend classes and training programs, including ones focused on negotiation. Their teachers pass … Read Learning from Negotiation Training 

Tufts Magazine: Negotiating Life

Jeswald W. Salacuse (Henry J. Baker Professor of Law; former Dean, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University; author of The Global Negotiator and Seven Secrets for Negotiating with Government)

When used prudently, metaphors can dissolve barriers between two sides in a negotiation. They can just as easily alienate and dissuade, when … Learn More About This Program 

Adapted from “Regain Your Counterpart’s Trust with an Apology,” first published in the Negotiation newsletter.

The problem: Whether you meant to or not, you’ve hurt or offended your negotiating counterpart through your words or actions. Perhaps you’ve shown up late for an appointment one time too many, neglected to follow through on a key contract term, … Read Put Apologies in Your Toolbox