One of the issues many negotiators have is anxiety about making a deal. Will it be a fair process? Will you get what you want? Or will you damage a relationship in the process if you’re too aggressive or incompetent? In these situations, you may find that your palms are sweaty, your heart is racing, … Read More 
Discover step-by-step techniques for avoiding common business negotiation pitfalls when you download a copy of the FREE special report, Business Negotiation Strategies: How to Negotiate Better Business Deals, from the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School.
business contract
The following items are tagged business contract:
How to Negotiate a Business Deal
In late 2016 and early 2017, news stories abounded of companies that were having second thoughts about planned mega-mergers. Abbott Laboratories began looking for ways to exit its acquisition of Alere, citing investigations of the medical test maker, for example. And Verizon started rethinking its acquisition of Yahoo! following a data breach at the tech … Read How to Negotiate a Business Deal
Successes & Messes: A Notoriously Bad Business Contract
In business contract negotiations, we’re sometimes tempted to break the mold and do things in a new and entirely different way. But if our strategies aren’t supported by sound analysis and advice, we risk winding up with regrets. Take the case of star running back Ricky Williams, now retired, and the sports agency he worked … Read More
How To Avoid a Business Contract Bidding War
Back in 2014, Nike was the undisputed king of superstar endorsements, dominating the field by paying top talent millions for the right to sell lines of collectible shoes in their names. But sportswear and footwear supplier Under Armour made a bold play to change the landscape. Basketball star Kevin Durant, then of the Oklahoma City … Read How To Avoid a Business Contract Bidding War
Dear Negotiation Coach: What Happens When a Business Contract Falls Apart?
We recently received a question from a reader regarding a business contract conflict. Robert Mnookin, Williston Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, chair of the Program on Negotiation, and author of Bargaining with the Devil: When to Negotiate, When to Fight (Simon & Schuster, 2010), explains that you may have more options than it … Read More
For Hollywood Writers, a Heavily Negotiated Business Contract
In its negotiations for a new business contract with entertainment companies back in 2017, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) delivered at the bargaining table what many film and TV viewers crave onscreen: plenty of suspense and a hard-won, if imperfect, victory.
The WGA, which represents more than 12,000 film and TV writers, negotiated for seven … Read More
Dear Negotiation Coach: How Do I Handle Reverse Auctions in a Business Contract Negotiation
Reverse auctions are becoming a more frequent reality of business contract negotiations as companies work to cut expenses. In most negotiations, however, price is not the only issue. Guhan Subramanian, Joseph Flom Professor of Law & Business at Harvard Law School and Douglas Weaver Professor of Business Law at Harvard Business School, answered a question … Read More
In Employment Contract Negotiation, “No Haggling” Isn’t the Answer
Back in spring 2015, Ellen Pao, the former CEO of social networking and news website Reddit, revealed in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that her company had taken a bold move in its efforts to create an “equal opportunity environment for everyone” at the company. Specifically, Reddit no longer negotiates salary with job … Read More
Business Contract Mistakes—and How to Avoid Them
When negotiating a business contract, parties are often so focused on reaching agreement that they don’t think enough about how the deal will unfold after the ink has dried. This type of short-term thinking leads to real problems down the road. The following three business negotiation tips can help you adopt a long-term perspective the … Read More
How to Write a Contract that Lasts
Joint ventures, strategic alliances, purchasing agreements, and other types of partnerships between organizations often begin with a great deal of promise—and a hefty amount of risk. Serious misunderstandings and opportunistic behavior are relatively common in such relationships. Formal contracts offer a method for reducing such risk, but negotiators and their attorneys are often unsure about … Read How to Write a Contract that Lasts
Dealmaking and the Trade Deal: Obama’s Uphill Battle with Congress
Sometimes in dealmaking, reaching agreement would require us to make compromises that we know will displease those who need to authorize the deal, such as our superiors back at the office. Fail to compromise, and impasse may be inevitable. Compromise and save the deal, and accept the difficulty of closing the deal in negotiations with … Read More
Program on Negotiation Welcomes Visiting Scholar Stefanos Mouzas
Stefanos Mouzas is Professor of Marketing and Strategy at Lancaster University Management School in England, where he is also affiliated with the Center of Law and Society. He received his B.Sc. (Economics) from the University of Athens, LL.M. (Contract Law) from University of Bristol, and Ph.D. (Marketing) from Lancaster University. He was Visiting Professor … Read More
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- Business Negotiations
- Conflict Resolution
- Conflict Resolution Examples in History: Learning from Nuclear Disarmament
- Conflict Resolution Success Stories: A Surprising Tale from Congress
- Case Study of Conflict Management: To Resolve Disputes and Manage Conflicts, Assume a Neutral 3rd Party Role
- Pros and Cons of Email Communication
- 3 Types of Conflict and How to Address Them
- Crisis Negotiations
- Dealing with Difficult People
- Ethics in Negotiations: How to Deal with Deception at the Bargaining Table
- Dealing with Difficult People: Coping with an Insulting Offer in Contract Negotiations
- Trust and Honesty in Negotiations: Dealing with Dishonest Negotiators
- Bargaining in Bad Faith: Dealing with “False Negotiators”
- How to Renegotiate a Bad Deal
- Dealmaking
- Dispute Resolution
- How to Negotiate with Friends and Family
- Cultural Barriers and Conflict Negotiation Strategies: Apple’s Apology in China
- What is Dispute System Design?
- Settling Out of Court: Negotiating in the Shadow of the Law
- What are the Three Basic Types of Dispute Resolution? What to Know About Mediation, Arbitration, and Litigation
- International Negotiation
- Political Negotiation: Negotiating with Bureaucrats
- International Arbitration: What it is and How it Works
- Diplomatic Negotiations: The Surprising Benefits of Conflict and Teamwork at the Negotiation Table
- The Importance of Relationship Building in China
- Overcoming Cultural Barriers in Negotiations and the Importance of Communication in International Business Deals
- Leadership Skills
- Mediation
- Negotiation Skills
- Negotiation Training
- Salary Negotiations
- Teaching Negotiation
- Labor Relations: Negotiating Collective Bargaining Agreements
- Teach Your Students to Take Their Mediation Skills to the Next Level
- Asynchronous Learning: Negotiation Exercises to Keep Students Engaged Outside the Classroom
- Negotiation Journal Now Open Access, New Issue Just Released!
- Teaching the Fundamentals: The Best Introductory Negotiation Role Play Simulations
- Win-Win Negotiations