Few negotiators can imagine negotiation scenarios more stressful than the kinds of crisis negotiations the New York City Police Department’s Hostage Negotiation Team undertake. But police negotiation techniques employed by the New York City Police Department’s Hostage Negotiations Team (HNT) in high-stakes, high-pressure crisis negotiation situations, outlined in an article from Jeff Thompson and Hugh … Read More 
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crisis
The following items are tagged crisis:
Negotiating Difficult Conversations: Dealing with Tough Topics Productively
Course Dates: This course is closed
When negotiations become difficult, emotions often escalate and talks break down. To overcome barriers and turn negotiations from difficult to collaborative, from breakdown to breakthrough, you must learn to understand the inter- and intra-personal dynamics at play. In this program, you will examine how your own assumptions and behaviors can … Read More
Business Crisis Management: Crisis Communication Examples and How to Use Police Negotiation Techniques
In this free special report negotiation experts offers advice on how to turn crisis situations into collaborative negotiations. Throughout the report, you will discover how to apply the lessons of professional hostage negotiators, avoid disasters through careful planning, diffuse tensions with angry members of the public, and break through impasse with open communication.
… Read More
Teach Your Students to Take Their Mediation Skills to the Next Level
Mediation is a critical conflict resolution skill for students in a variety of fields: business, international relations, law, and public policy, to name a few. Once students have mastered mediation basics, they can hone their skills by trying to mediate more complex conflicts as well as by learning the key differences between facilitation and mediation. … Read More
The Pros and Cons of Back-Channel Negotiations
Back-channel negotiations have been used in numerous conflicts across the globe, including the Israeli-Palestinian peace process from 1994 to 1996 and the Iranian hostage crisis in 1979–1980. In 1985, the imprisoned Nelson Mandela conducted back-channel negotiations with South Africa’s minister of justice, Hendrik Jacobus Coetsee, that laid the groundwork for the end of the apartheid … Read The Pros and Cons of Back-Channel Negotiations
Advanced Negotiation Strategies and Concepts: Hostage Negotiation Tips for Business Negotiators
Upset by a delay in the delivery of one of your products, a longtime buyer threatens to turn to the media unless you meet his extreme demands. Not only is the relationship in jeopardy, but your company’s reputation seems to be as well. What should you do? Turn to some tried and true hostage negotiation … Read More
Negotiation Examples: How Crisis Negotiators Use Text Messaging
In their negotiation training, police and professional hostage negotiators are taught skills that will help them defuse tense situations over the course of long phone calls, such as engaging in active listening, determining the person’s emotions from his or her inflection, and trust building.
… Read More
Teach Your Students to Negotiate Cross-Border Water Conflicts
With the south-western United States experiencing a years-long drought which has dramatically depleted the Colorado River, there are many signs that water conflicts will become more frequent. Negotiating cross-border water conflicts requires balancing political interests, power dynamics, scientific research, and legal parameters. Success in water negotiations hinges on prediction and monitoring arrangements as well as … Read More
Top 10 International Business Negotiation Case Studies
Here is a list offering a broad overview of negotiation case studies from the recent past along with analysis of each bargaining scenario:
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Hard Bargaining in Negotiation
Hard bargaining in negotiation is often touted as the best way to get what you want when all else fails. But as recent news stories illustrate, hard bargaining often backfires unless used in tandem with more collaborative strategies.
… Read Hard Bargaining in Negotiation
New Simulation: Negotiating a Management Crisis
How do you negotiate an internal management conflict in the face of looming crisis and a deep loss of trust? In Discord at the Daily Herald, a new simulation from the Teaching Negotiation Resource Center (TNRC), the co-owners of the Daily Herald must grapple with these issues or face the complete dissolution of their partnership … Read New Simulation: Negotiating a Management Crisis
The Best New Simulations
Looking to update your curriculum with innovative new simulations? Check out these new simulations from the Teaching Negotiation Resource Center (TNRC).
Discord at the Daily Herald – New Simulation
This two-party, three-hour, multi-issue negotiation is between the co-owners of the Daily Herald newspaper over how to resolve ongoing management issues and implement structural reforms in the face … Read The Best New Simulations
Negotiating Change During the Covid-19 Pandemic
Many actions that could help alleviate the Covid-19 pandemic require us to change our behavior on a personal level, such as staying home from work and wearing a mask in public places. Others, such as making coronavirus-related research more widely available, require more organizational and systemic change.
… Read Negotiating Change During the Covid-19 Pandemic
10 Real-World Negotiation Examples
Real-world negotiation examples can help us learn from the past and avoid repeating others’ mistakes. Here’s a recap of 10 recent real-world negotiation examples across government and industry that provide negotiation lessons for all business negotiators.
… Read 10 Real-World Negotiation Examples
In Corporate Crisis Management, Don’t Forget Employees
Corporate crisis management is stressful for everyone involved—including employees. All organizations facing a crisis—from a pandemic to negative PR—can and should take steps to lessen the likelihood of employee burnout and its negative effects. Indeed, addressing employees’ needs is a key aspect of corporate crisis management.
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AI Negotiation in the News
OpenAI’s unveiling of its ChatGPT software in late 2022 has led to some notable conflicts and negotiations, in addition to new applications of AI to negotiation and conflict resolution. Here’s a roundup of recent AI negotiation stories in the news.
… Read AI Negotiation in the News
10 Notable Negotiations of 2021
Looking back at our list of 10 Notable Negotiations of 2021, which includes a few bargaining highs amid the many lows. Challenged by pandemic-era uncertainty, mounting political divides, and other obstacles, negotiators had difficulty coming together in 2021.
… Read 10 Notable Negotiations of 2021
Crisis Communication Examples: What’s So Funny?
What’s the best way to respond to a public relations crisis? As recent crisis communication examples show, some organizations and individuals opt for humor, hoping some levity will lighten the mood and restore normalcy.
… Read Crisis Communication Examples: What’s So Funny?
How to Overcome Cultural Barriers in Communication – Cultural Approximations of Time and the Impact on Negotiations
Some of the most fundamental international negotiation skills to develop are negotiation strategies on how to overcome cultural barriers in communication.
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Dealing with Difficult People and Negotiation: When Should You Give Up the Fight?
Negotiators often fail to recognize when it’s time to walk away from a negotiation dispute – a trap that can squander time, money, and reputations. In a negotiation where pride and property are at stake, it may help to know when to give up the fight with your counterpart.
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The Star Wars Negotiations and Trust at the Negotiation Table
What is negotiation in business? Negotiation research has identified it as a process of building trust and negotiation tactics for building trust at the bargaining table have proven effective in helping negotiators create, and claim, more value out of dealmaking scenarios.
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Crisis Negotiation Skills: The Hostage Negotiator’s Drill
Here are some negotiating skills from the world of crisis negotiations: Hostage negotiators stress the importance of discussing the “drill”—goals, ground rules, and operating principles—with their team before beginning talks with a hostage taker.
… Read More
Negotiation in Business: Apple and Samsung’s Dispute Resolution Case Study
For two days in late May 2012, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Samsung CEO Gee-Sung Choi met with a judge in the U.S. District Court of Northern California in an attempt to reach a settlement in a high-profile U.S. patent case, a sobering example of negotiation in business.
… Read More
What is Crisis Management in Negotiation?
Organizations often establish elaborate business crisis management plans. Through a rapid, centralized response, an organization can shift swiftly and efficiently from day-to-day operations into crisis-management mode, whether that crisis involves a building evacuation, a tumble in the company’s stock price, or a product recall.
… Read What is Crisis Management in Negotiation?
Dispute Resolution on Facebook: Using a Negotiation Approach to Resolve a Conflict
For several years, Facebook has been working with social scientists to bring traditional methods of dispute resolution to cyberspace. The site has begun to offer users tools to resolve disputes with one another over offensive or upsetting posts, including insults and photos.
… Read More
How To Create a Better Deal in International Bargaining Situations
On April 19, 2013, after what was undoubtedly an intensive series of international bargaining and negotiation sessions, Toyota announced that it would begin manufacturing its Lexus luxury car in the United States for the first time. The Japanese automaker planned to invest $360 million in a new production line for its Georgetown, Kentucky, plant, which … Read More
Dispute Resolution Example: The Chicago Symphony’s Contract Dispute
A 2019 contract dispute between the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) and its musicians led to a disruptive seven-week strike, the longest in the venerable orchestra’s 128-year history. The unlikely intervention of Chicago’s mayor just before he left office managed to draw this thorny dispute resolution example to a mutually satisfactory finale while also highlighting the … Read More
Ripeness Theory in Dispute Resolution: Seizing the Day
The longer a dispute drags on, the less likely a collaborative solution often appears to be. But that view may be pessimistic: At a certain point, the time will be ripe for agreement. A labor dispute between the Minnesota Orchestra’s musicians and management highlights negotiation mistakes that can drive us apart—and ripeness theory suggests how … Read More
Crisis Negotiation Skills: Learning from Others’ Mistakes
When facing crisis negotiations, we often bargain from a position of weakness, hands outstretched in the hope that the other party will help us stay afloat. A special set of crisis negotiation skills is needed as we strive to advocate for our needs without pushing our counterparts too far.
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Crisis Negotiations: Advice for Ending Tense Standoffs
How can you engage in crisis negotiations with someone who doesn’t trust you? Consider bringing in individuals the other party does trust to play the role of mediator in the dispute, as the FBI did to promote a peaceful end to a standoff with occupiers of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in February 2016.
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Threats in Negotiation: When and How to Make Effective Threats
What should you do when the other party won’t give you what you want in negotiation? Many negotiating tactics are available: Offer multiple proposals to find out what they value most, make tradeoffs to convey you’re willing to concede, find a different negotiating partner, and so on. Making threats in negotiation is another common strategy—one that … Read More
Madeleine Albright’s Ways to Avoid Conflict In Negotiation: First, Put Yourself In Their Shoes
When parties can trade on their preferences across different issues, they reduce the need to haggle over price and percentages. But are there ways to avoid conflict in other types of negotiation?
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Power in Negotiation: Examples of Being Overly Committed to the Deal
When you’re more tightly bound to an agreement than your counterpart is, trouble could follow in negotiation. Manage your escalation of commitment—and level the playing field.
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Conflict Management Skills When Dealing with an Angry Public
When negotiators get along well, creative problem solving is easy. When they become upset, however, they seem to forget everything they know about finding joint gain, to the point of giving up tangible wins simply to inflict losses on the other party. This is especially true in high-profile negotiations that turn nasty.
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Group Decision Making: Best Practices and Pitfalls
When engaged in a complex group negotiation or dispute, how should you come to agreement? Members might separate into factions and fight to have their voices heard. They might take a vote and let the majority rule. Or they can try to negotiate their way to consensus.
There are almost as many forms of group decision … Read More
Feeling Pressured by a Counterpart? Try Deal Structuring with Conditions
Your boss asks you to disrupt some family plans to work through the weekend. The PTA president at your children’s school wants you to chair an important benefit that no one else will lead. A customer asks you to participate in an auction rather than negotiating one-on-one for his contract. Being asked to do something … Read More
How To Find a Mutually Satisfactory Agreement When Negotiators are Far Apart
In 2013, negotiators from Citigroup and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) began meeting to find a mutually satisfactory agreement regarding what penalties the bank should face for allegedly defrauding investors in 2006 and 2007. The DOJ accused Citigroup of ignoring signs that a significant portion of the mortgages it had packaged and sold had … Read More
Great Women Leaders Negotiate
Great women leaders are no different than great male leaders—except that they may have faced more discrimination, lower expectations, and stronger resistance along the way. When women in leadership succeed, they often do so by cultivating successful negotiating skills. Here, we examine strategies that three top women in negotiation employed to become great women leaders. … Read Great Women Leaders Negotiate
Negotiation Skills: Threat Response at the Bargaining Table
When someone issues a threat or an ultimatum, take a step back and diagnose the problem. Consider how you would respond to threats and ultimatums such as these during negotiation. In the face of such tough talk, should you strike back with a counterthreat? Probably not. Because counterthreats raise the emotional temperature of a negotiation, … Read More
Dear Negotiation Coach: Responsible Negotiation Means Caring Beyond the Deal Closing
Alain Lempereur, has developed the concept of “responsible negotiation”, and answers questions about how to conduct more ethically sound negotiations.
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How to Negotiate Under Pressure
At the time, it seemed to be an example of coolheaded dealmaking in the midst of disaster. In 2009, hit hard by the 2008 financial crisis and changes in consumer preferences, U.S. automaker Chrysler was on the brink of collapse, and the Treasury Department stepped in to do a deal. In exchange for about $12 … Read How to Negotiate Under Pressure
“No One is Really in Charge” Hostage Taking and the Risks of No-Negotiation Policies
In the business world, we sometimes are tempted to avoid negotiating with people or groups we view to be immoral, untrustworthy, or simply unlikable. Imagine a counterpart who works in a business that you believe to be immoral, someone who has a reputation for gossiping about colleagues, or a longtime client who routinely falls back on hardball … Read More
Dealing with Difficult People – Even When You Don’t Want To
In your negotiations, have you ever faced a truly difficult negotiator—someone whose behavior seems designed to provoke, thwart, and annoy you beyond all measure? We often have strong incentives to negotiate with those we find obstinate, unpredictable, abrasive, or untrustworthy. When we avoid dealing with difficult people, we risk missing out on important opportunities. But … Read More
Managing Difficult Negotiations: Lessons from the 2015-2017 Illinois Budget Impasse
On July 6, 2017, the state of Illinois finally resolved a 793-day budget impasse, the longest such impasse in U.S. history. The economically devastating stalemate between Republican then-governor Bruce Rauner and the Democratic-controlled state legislature, triggered by hardball negotiation tactics, offers lessons to negotiators managing difficult negotiations.
An Agenda and a Condition
As Illinois politicians approached negotiations … Read More
Job Negotiation Advice to Help You Succeed
One of the more interesting segues to job negotiation advice emerged from the December 2014 leaks of hacked Sony Pictures data and an e-mail revealing a young actress’s efforts to be paid on the same level as her male peers.
In a December 2013 e-mail to Sony Pictures cochair Amy Pascal, Columbia Pictures executive Andrew Gumpert … Read Job Negotiation Advice to Help You Succeed
Dear Negotiation Coach: Can Negotiation Theory Help Us Understand Our Religious Identity?
Negotiation theory suggests you focus on interests, not positions; separate inventing from committing; invest heavily in “What if?” questions; insist on objective criteria; and try to build nearly self-enforcing agreements.
But what if the negotiation is with yourself, or about your own religious identity?
For example, what does it mean to be Jewish in America? What challenges … Read More
In Crisis Negotiations, Stay Rational Under Pressure
At the time, it seemed to be an example of coolheaded dealmaking in the midst of disaster. In 2009, hit hard by the 2008 financial crisis and changes in consumer preferences, U.S. automaker Chrysler was on the brink of collapse. The U.S. Treasury Department stepped in to run a crisis negotiation. In exchange for about … Read More
Tough Negotiator: Insights on Vladimir Putin from Former U.S. Secretaries of State
How should you prepare to negotiate effectively with an exceptionally tough negotiator? That’s the question the United States and its allies have faced since Russian president Vladimir Putin sent his troops to wage war on Ukraine on February 24. The experiences and insights of five former U.S. secretaries of state who negotiated directly with Putin … Read More
Emotional Leadership Can Have a Silver Lining in Negotiation
The negotiations that surrounded the 1962 Cuban missile crisis were some of the most tense and frightening in world history, and provide a high-profile example of emotional leadership. Having learned that the Soviet Union had deployed ballistic missiles to Cuba, the United States orchestrated a military naval blockade to prevent the Soviets from delivering more … Read More
Digitally Enhanced Simulation Packages – With Live Data Analytics
In-depth Teaching Materials with Real Time Data Analytics Designed to Enhance Teaching Negotiation
From the Teaching Negotiation Resource Center (TNRC) at PON, and iDecisionGames: digitally enhanced simulation packages designed to take your teaching to the next level.
The Enhanced Simulation Package from the TNRC and iDecisionGames brings a new, interactive learning experience to teaching negotiation. This easy … Read More
Elements of Negotiation Style: Angela Merkel
What is your negotiation style? Some negotiators make a strong impression through bold opening statements and mesmerizing presentations. Others closely observe and gather information before making any decisive moves. Angela Merkel, who chose not to run for reelection in 2021 after nearly 16 years as Germany’s chancellor, has demonstrated the latter type of negotiation style: … Read Elements of Negotiation Style: Angela Merkel
New International Negotiation Simulations: Teaching International Negotiation with Current Global Dynamics
With the spread of a global pandemic, climate crisis, and the war on terror, resolving international conflicts has become increasingly complex. Training to address these difficult global conflicts must also reflect the modern issues and dynamics that face the international community. The Teaching Negotiation Resource Center (TNRC) has several new international negotiation simulations that reflect … Read More
Skills of Negotiation: Launching a Quick Campaign
Advice on how to negotiate a job offer often focuses on the candidate’s perspective, offering compensation negotiation tips and guidance on adding other issues to the discussion. But how can hiring organizations gain an edge when competing for star candidates?
The negotiation example of how Howard University lured Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones away from the … Read Skills of Negotiation: Launching a Quick Campaign
Negotiating Public Disputes
How Negotiation Can Impact Public Perceptions
Companies and governments alike can experience strong public resistance to new initiatives, or fierce public backlash to mistakes. How should they deal with an angry public? Incorporating a public relations perspective into a problem-solving or public dispute resolution processes can make the difference between success or failure. Adopting a mutual … Read Negotiating Public Disputes
Learning from crisis negotiations
In crisis negotiations, we typically face a number of difficult decisions. Should we try to negotiate on our own or team up with others with shared goals? Should we take time to drive a hard bargain or try to wrap up talks as quickly as possible? How can we account for uncertainty and risk in … Read Learning from crisis negotiations
Why It Pays for Powerful Parties to Negotiate
In recent years, the U.S. film industry has avoided dealing with a mounting inefficiency. Historically, theater companies have negotiated with film studios for the right to screen movies for three months before they can be released in other formats, including streaming, on demand, and DVD. Staggering the release of films in different formats has benefited studios … Read Why It Pays for Powerful Parties to Negotiate
Job Offer Negotiation Tips During the Pandemic
Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, many jobseekers have concluded that if they are lucky enough to be offered a good job in a tight market, they lack the power needed to negotiate better employment terms. In fact, a silver lining of the crisis is that it has created new opportunities to negotiate. With the coronavirus throwing … Read Job Offer Negotiation Tips During the Pandemic
10 Notable Negotiations of 2020
If there’s one thing that negotiators have practiced this year, it’s thinking on their feet. As our 10 notable negotiations of 2020 illustrate, the coronavirus pandemic left individuals, businesses, nonprofits, and governments trying to replace outmoded plans with more workable alternatives.
10 Notable Negotiations of 2020
10. Struggling to play ball. This year, sports leagues scrambled to … Read 10 Notable Negotiations of 2020
Dealing with Difficult Employees
When dealing with difficult employees, leaders often feel overwhelmed and frustrated by a task that can seem like a distraction from broader organizational goals. But managing personnel issues, including conflict among employees, is a pivotal leadership task—and one that can be improved with knowledge and practice. The following solutions for dealing with difficult employees will … Read Dealing with Difficult Employees
Crisis Negotiation: The European Financial Crisis
Planning for crisis negotiation scenarios, particularly in international negotiations, can help negotiators develop strategies before a crisis emerges. Here are some of the negotiation strategies European central bank leaders uses during the financial crisis to help prevent a market collapse.
… Read Crisis Negotiation: The European Financial Crisis
Learning from Crisis Negotiations
When businesses and industries are hit by an unforeseen disaster, they often need to quickly launch crisis negotiations and wrap them up as soon as possible. But time pressure can stifle essential elements of sound dealmaking, including rational thinking, perspective taking, and collaboration, while also promoting dysfunctional competition. Recent negotiations within industries facing crisis offer … Read Learning from Crisis Negotiations
How to Negotiate with Difficult People: International Negotiation, and a Refusal to Communicate
Business negotiators sometimes face the difficult question of whether to negotiate with someone they believe to be immoral, untrustworthy, or otherwise undesirable as a negotiating partner. In his book Bargaining with the Devil: When to Negotiate, When to Fight (Simon & Schuster, 2011), Program on Negotiation chair Robert Mnookin offers negotiation advice on the complex … Read More
Closing the Deal in Negotiations When Win-Win Seems Likely
Excerpted from the article “Will Your Negotiation Make It to the Finish Line?” in the December 2020 issue of Negotiation Briefings, the Program on Negotiation’s monthly newsletter of advice for professional negotiators.
When it comes to closing the deal in negotiations, agreements sometimes fall apart for good reason. If one or more parties realize they could … Read More
Conflict Negotiation Skills for Broken Contracts
Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, many agreements—renting a concert venue, hiring workers for a new café chain, acquiring a company—became untenable or illogical overnight. But it’s not easy to exit a signed contract without risking a costly legal dispute. By sharpening our conflict negotiation skills, we can negotiate satisfactory solutions without ending up in court. One … Read Conflict Negotiation Skills for Broken Contracts
Types of Power in Negotiation: Chaos Theory and Bargaining Scenarios
Among the many types of power in negotiation a negotiator can exhibit is an ability to exert control over the negotiation process. But what about those bargaining scenarios in which the negotiator unable to gain control of proceedings? How should she formulate her negotiation strategy?
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Leadership Styles in Crisis Negotiations
Since the start of the global economic recession in 2008, few issues have proven as explosive as the Greek debt crisis. The Greek government’s commitment to repay billions of dollars in loans has been a source of contention with creditors ever since a sizable bailout was issued in 2010.
… Read Leadership Styles in Crisis Negotiations
Dealmaking Tips: 7 Negotiation Tactics for Saving a Deal from Collapse
Even after the best negotiations, sometimes the other side will demand a renegotiation of the deal. Here are some guidelines on how to proceed in a negotiation.
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How to Overcome Cross Cultural Barriers in Negotiation
How different cultural perspectives impact bargaining strategies at the negotiation table
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Negotiation In The News: The Art of the Compromise
Planning is key in negotiation. That doesn’t mean memorizing a predetermined script, but being ready to roll with the punches. The negotiators who worked to transform the hit Broadway musical Hamilton into a feature film learned that lesson at a couple of different points in the process. Their resourcefulness—and ability to stand by their principles—should inspire … Read More
A Crisis Negotiations Case Study: Chen Guangcheng, the United States, China, and Diplomatic Negotiations
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s indirect approach to diplomatic negotiations with the People’s Republic of China over political dissdent Chen Guangcheng demonstrates the power of adaptability at the bargaining table, especially when dealing with a counterpart from a different culture or who may speak a different language.
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Ask A Negotiation Expert: Job Negotiations In the COVID-19 Era
The coronavirus pandemic and resulting economic crisis have shaken up nearly everyone’s working life. We asked Hannah Riley Bowles, the Roy E. Larsen Senior Lecturer in Public Policy and Management at Harvard Kennedy School, for advice on how to adapt to this uncertain time.
Negotiation Briefings: What advice would you give to people who are currently … Read More
New Simulation on Science Diplomacy
Teach Your Students to Incorporate Scientific Findings into International Policy Decisions
Science diplomacy elevates the role of science and technology in addressing global challenges. While science diplomacy has a long history of bringing nations together through sharing technological innovations, it has becoming increasingly important in the face of global pandemic, and as climate change and environmental … Read New Simulation on Science Diplomacy
A Mediation Intervention in Chicago
A contract dispute in the spring of 2019 between the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) and its musicians led to a disruptive seven-week strike, the longest in the venerable orchestra’s 128-year history. An unexpected intervention by Chicago’s departing mayor drew the dispute to a harmonious finale—and illustrates the role of the mediation process in conflict resolution.
Negotiations … Read A Mediation Intervention in Chicago
Ask A Negotiation Expert: Steering Your Organization Through Crisis
Leaders in government, business, and beyond are struggling to respond to the economic and health ramifications of the Covid-19 pandemic. Drawing on insights from his book Real Leaders Negotiate! Gaining, Using, and Keeping the Power to Lead Through Negotiation (Palgrave Macmillan, 2017), Jeswald Salacuse describes how leaders can use the tools of negotiation to react … Read More
A Global Leadership Vacuum During the Covid-19 Crisis
As the coronavirus outbreak in China exploded into an international pandemic, nations have largely struggled to confront Covid-19 in isolation rather than teaming up on global solutions. That “go it alone” approach has bred dysfunctional competition for scarce resources, a shortage of creative solutions, and enormous inefficiencies. Greater collaboration and coordination are needed to improve … Read More
Negotiation in the News: The best—and worst—of distance negotiations
Unable to meet in person as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, negotiators are forced to make the best of alternatives to face-to-face talks—with varied results. Here’s a roundup of some of the most notable negotiation successes and failures from the recent news.
Droning on and on?
As we reported in last month’s issue, dealmakers who are … Read More
In Times of Crisis, Collaboration Must Come First
In the best of times, negotiators thrive by striking a careful balance between cooperation and competition. Collaborating with our counterparts to create new sources of value, and then trying to claim a fair share of that value for our side, is typically a recipe for success.
In the worst of times, working with other parties to create … Read In Times of Crisis, Collaboration Must Come First
When deals fall apart
For investors and employees of office-space company WeWork, the April 1 news was no joke: Japanese conglomerate SoftBank, WeWork’s dominant shareholder, was reneging on an agreement to buy $3 billion of the company’s stock from them. A longtime financial backer of WeWork, SoftBank had agreed to the purchase as part of a bailout of the … Read When deals fall apart
Staying Adaptive through Crisis
How do we stay adaptive through challenging times?
It is common and understandable to feel deflated at a time of crisis. But in these difficult situations, it can be important to embrace our inner rebel and help others do the same. At a recent virtual event hosted by the Program on Negotiation (PON), Francesca Gino, the … Read Staying Adaptive through Crisis
Contract Renegotiation in a Time of Crisis
The COVID-19 pandemic has left many of us negotiating circumstances we never envisioned just months ago, from health crises to lost jobs to plummeting sales. Businesses of all sizes, in particular, are faced with the difficult task of contract renegotiation as a result of parties’ inability to meet current deal terms.
Unfortunately, contract renegotiation is much … Read Contract Renegotiation in a Time of Crisis
Combatting COVID-19 with Common Interests
As nations rush to slow the COVID-19 pandemic, treat victims of the virus, and develop cures, they face strong motivations to cooperate with one another rather than compete. Scientists and technical experts can help spearhead this collaboration, said Professor Paul Berkman, director of Tufts University’s Science Diplomacy Center, during a March 26 online talk hosted … Read Combatting COVID-19 with Common Interests
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
Integrative Bargaining in Congress? It Happens Sometimes
With Congress polarized by an impeachment hearing and its major legislative initiatives stalled in late 2019, it may be worthwhile to revisit a recent instance of integrative bargaining between Democrats and Republicans. In integrative bargaining, parties create value by discussing multiple issues and logrolling—that is, making tradeoffs across those issues. In 2018, the rival parties … Read More
Negotiation in the News: Negotiating with the Sacklers: Inside the Purdue Pharma settlement
In the 1990s, U.S. drug manufacturers unwittingly set a national crisis in motion when they began marketing new and highly addictive prescription opioid medications for the treatment of pain. Between 1999 and 2017, about 400,000 Americans died from a drug overdose involving an opioid, including both prescription and illegal drugs. By 2015, the opioid crisis … Read More
Negotiating for a brighter future
For decades, the Colorado River has been in trouble. The river supplies water to 40 million people and five million acres of farmland in seven U.S. states and Mexico. But following 19 years of drought and population growth, the water levels of the river’s largest reservoirs, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, have sunk to record lows. … Read Negotiating for a brighter future
A Lesson from Turkey: Raise Your Profile in International Negotiations
Negotiators seek to raise their stature and increase their influence in international negotiations and other realms by serving as mediators and peacekeepers when conflicts emerge. To do so, they need to cultivate a reputation for impartiality or, at the very least, a willingness to listen to both sides.
… Read More
Conflict Management and Negotiating When Pride is at Stake
The fallout from Iceland’s financial crisis offers a case study in dealing with those who have suffered a significant blow to their self-esteem. In late 2008, Iceland teetered on the edge of bankruptcy following the collapse of its three largest banks. Since becoming independent of the government in 2002, the banks had pursued a strategy … Read More
Famous Negotiation Case: How Jamie Dimon Avoided Disaster
Sometimes your goal in negotiation is to improve your fortunes. But sometimes, as in this famous negotiation case, the best you can hope for is to lessen the fallout from past mistakes.
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Teach Your Students Cross-Cultural Negotiation
As our world grows increasingly interconnected, we are more likely to find ourselves negotiating in a cross-cultural context. The diverse makeup of many societies and global nature of business today make cross-cultural negotiation a regular part of life. Also, unfortunately, many major disputes in need of resolution cross ethnic and cultural lines. Furthermore, it is important … Read Teach Your Students Cross-Cultural Negotiation
Hostage Negotiation Techniques for Business Negotiators
What do FBI hostage negotiation techniques and business dealmaking have in common? Not a lot, we might assume. In workplace talks, lives are rarely at stake, and tensions seldom escalate into violence. Yet dig a bit deeper, and similarities emerge: just as in a crisis negotiation, business talks can be highly charged, unpredictable, and emotional.
In … Read More
Best-In-Class Negotiation Case Studies You Can Use to Train
What’s one of the best ways to teach the art and science of conflict resolution? With negotiation case studies that spark lively discussion or facilitate self-reflection. Based on real-world examples, these teaching resources are designed to help students envision how to apply what they’ve learned in the classroom and beyond.
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Top 10 Notable Negotiations
In 2017, all eyes were on Washington as a president with a reputation as a dealmaker entered the White House. The following negotiations from the past year, both inside and outside of politics, caught our eye due to the broader lessons they offer business negotiators.
… Read Top 10 Notable Negotiations
In This Greece Crisis Negotiation, Tough Conditions May Have Affected the Deal
During a crisis negotiation, all that may seem to matter is reaching a deal as quickly as possible. The desire to head off a disaster may lead crisis negotiators to forego the usual comforts of life, such as sleep, in their single-minded pursuit of their goal.
… Read More
Negotiation Update: At Last, Illinois Lawmakers Agree on a Budget
In negotiation, impasse isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If parties conclude they can’t get what they want from each other, it’s in their interest to walk away and seek out other negotiating partners.
But in negotiations in which parties have only each other to deal with, impasse can be not only inefficient but also nonsensical. That … Read More
Negotiation in the News: How Congress got to “yes” on new banking rules
It’s hardly news that in the U.S. Congress, bipartisan dealmaking has been virtually nonexistent for years. That’s why it was newsworthy when Democrats and Republicans came together to negotiate changes to the Dodd-Frank law, which tightened regulations on banks and other firms following the 2008 financial crisis.
Accounting for the opposition
After President Donald Trump took office, … Read More
Negotiation Training with Heart
In typical negotiation skills training, we are taught to get beyond our emotions and look at situations rationally. There’s merit to this approach, of course, as feelings can cloud our judgment. But consider what Lieutenant Jack Cambria, who retired in August as the longest-running head of the New York Police Department’s (NYPD’s) hostage negotiation team, … Read Negotiation Training with Heart
Teach Crucial Leadership Skills
A Crisis Creates a Leadership Vacuum
A publicly traded company on the NYSE with a reputation for business savvy and lucrative deal making is caught in a morally questionable situation that threatens the very future of the firm. As the dust settles, the CEO, on whose watch the scandal occurred, is forced to step down. Word … Read Teach Crucial Leadership Skills
Crisis Negotiations: After the West Coast Ports Conflict, Damage Remained
No one wants to engage in crisis negotiations. When parties need to hurriedly work out a solution to a shared problem, time is short, tempers are frayed, and the disaster is looming. Feeling they’ve exhausted good-faith bargaining, parties in crisis negotiations may believe they face an impossible choice between caving in to the other side’s … Read More
Conflict Negotiation Strategies for Business Negotiators
When closing a deal, new business partners are typically optimistic about the path ahead. But somewhere down the line, conflict is almost inevitable. One party may miss a deadline. The two sides may interpret contract terms differently. Changing economic conditions may make it difficult for one side to uphold its end of the deal.
When a … Read More
Notable Negotiations of 2017
Our notable negotiations of 2017 includes hits and misses from entertainment, sports, business, and especially politics, due to a new rough-and-tumble era in Washington.
… Read Notable Negotiations of 2017
Crossed Wires? Negotiation Games To Help Your Business Deal Sidestep Legal, Technical And Emotional Glitches
What’s faster than the pace of technological development? The pace of lawsuits being filed about the adoption of new technologies, patent infringement, and intellectual property rights. In our modern world, professionals must be able to resolve highly challenging technology-related disputes – often before they reach the courtroom. That’s where the Program on Negotiation’s Teaching … Read More
Negotiating seamless leadership transitions
Travis Kalanick, until recently the CEO of ride-hailing service Uber, helped grow the company from the seed of an idea in 2009 into a global firm valued at nearly $70 billion. He cemented his power by becoming Uber’s single biggest shareholder, negotiating for a seat on Uber’s board, and filling other board seats with his supporters. … Read Negotiating seamless leadership transitions
When International Negotiation Stymies the Best Mediators
On May 13, Lakhdar Brahimi, U.N. special envoy to Syria, announced that he was quitting his position as lead mediator of the Syrian conflict due to frustration with a lack of progress. The same day, a French diplomat said the Syrian government had used chemical weapons more than 12 times after signing a treaty banning … Read More
Leadership Style Assessment: Road Map for Podemos in Spain
The skills required for honing an effective participative leadership style have a great deal in common with those used by good negotiators. Following the May 24, 2015 municipal elections in Spain, all of those skills are being put to the test. The elections delivered a stunning rebuke to the incumbent conservative Popular Party of Mariano … Read More
Top International Multiparty Negotiations: Dissent in the European Union
A European Union summit held in late October 2013 failed to make headway toward more coordination of economic policies. Facing resistance from Germany in particular, European officials grew pessimistic regarding their odds of negotiating a deal over the next year to lay the foundation for a banking union for the 17 nations that use the … Read More
A Chance at a Win-Win Negotiation in Hollywood?
Question: What’s the best way to minimize the risk of long-term financial commitments and wrap up a win-win negotiation?
… Read A Chance at a Win-Win Negotiation in Hollywood?
A Top International Negotiation: The Cyprus Crisis
On March 19, 2013 with the economy of the tiny Mediterranean country of Cyprus on the verge of collapse, its lawmakers rejected a 10 billion euro international bailout package, leaving the nation’s president, Nicos Anastasiades, scrambling to come up with a Plan B.
… Read More
Win-Win Business Negotiations: The Wachovia Buyout
Changing financial and legal conditions can create and destroy wealth in the blink of an eye. How does a negotiator take advantage of such periods of change? During the financial crisis of 2008, Wachovia Corporation found itself looking for a buyer to avoid collapse while the financial industry as a whole was the grips of … Read More
The Leadership Skills of Late Night
Selecting the right person for a challenging job is often more than just a hiring decision. It’s a negotiation. Doing it well requires exceptional leadership skills. Nowhere is this clearer than in late night television. Last year, Jay Leno left The Tonight Show.
… Read The Leadership Skills of Late Night
Negotiation and Leadership Skills: Jerry Brown Re-Frames a Deal at High Speed
Starting construction on an 800-mile rail network in the world’s 8th largest economy without the funds in place to finish the job may seem crazy, but in California Governor Jerry Brown’s case it was a calculated gamble by a seasoned leader intent on winning a long-term negotiation.
… Read More
In Conflict Resolution, Look for Trusted Partners
How can you engage in conflict management with someone who doesn’t trust you? Consider bringing in someone the other party does trust to mediate the dispute, as the FBI and the occupiers of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon did to promote a peaceful end to their standoff in February 2016.
… Read In Conflict Resolution, Look for Trusted Partners
Worst Negotiation Tactics of 2015
Here are some of the worst negotiation tactics displayed during calendar year 2015 – from hard-bargaining, distributive negotiation strategies aimed at getting the whole pie to stonewalling strategies intended to stymy the development of a negotiated agreement.
… Read Worst Negotiation Tactics of 2015
Worst Negotiation Tactics of 2015
Here are some of the worst negotiation tactics displayed during calendar year 2015 – from hard-bargaining, distributive negotiation strategies aimed at getting the whole pie to stonewalling strategies intended to stymy the development of a negotiated agreement.
… Read Worst Negotiation Tactics of 2015
Hoping for an Uncontroversial Negotiation? Consider the Optics
January 16, 2016, was a memorable day in U.S.-Iranian relations. That day, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported that Iran was in compliance with the terms of the nuclear agreement it reached in mid-2015 with the United States, which represented Russia, China, France, Germany, and Great Britain in the talks. The news prompted the United … Read More
How to Conduct a Mediation During Crisis Negotiations
The most difficult peace negotiations in recent decades—in Ireland, the Middle East, the former Yugoslavia, and Sri Lanka—were plagued by a common enemy: violent disruptions by spoilers opposed to the peace process. In each of these cases, extremists stalled negotiations by creating security crises that divided public opinion and drove negotiators apart.
… Read More
Teach “Head and Heart” Negotiation with New Negotiation Game Technology
Do you teach students how to structure a negotiation process while helping them to develop the emotional acuity necessary for building relationships with counterparts? Professor Linda Kaboolian refers to this as “teaching head and heart negotiation”; an approach that was central to the 10 years she spent teaching simulation-based negotiation at the Harvard Kennedy School.
Kaboolian … Read More
World in Crisis! One of the Most Immersive and Rewarding Negotiation Games Ever Created
This negotiation simulation comprised “the most intense, challenging and educational days of my life” reported one participant. What sort of experience could possibly elicit such a comment? One of the most immersive and rewarding negotiation games ever developed: a 72-party mega-simulation called the Transition Exercise!
The Transition (Excercise Trailer) from MediaTank on Vimeo.
This one-of-a-kind, intensive, multi-party … Read More
In Renegotiation with Britain, EU Faced Weak BATNA
How David Cameron’s Tory government’s plans to leave the euro-zone have EU ministers scrambling in negotiations with a weak alternative to a negotiated agreement.
… Read More
With Patient Approach, FBI Steered Oregon Occupiers Toward Their BATNA
The 41-day armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon ended on February 11 when the last occupiers surrendered. Federal authorities in six states also arrested seven others accused of being involved in the occupation, according to the Associated Press. The standoff had begun when Ammon Bundy and his followers took over the … Read More
Overcoming Cultural Barriers in Negotiations: The Importance of Culture and Etiquette in Bargaining Scenarios
Learn how and when to engage in appropriate cultural traditions when negotiating with counterparts from a different culture. In this article we offer negotiation tips for overcoming cultural barriers in negotiation and present additional articles drawn from negotiation research that may be of benefit to negotiators who need to improve their international negotiation skills.
… Read More
Top 10 Best Pieces of Negotiation Advice of 2015
Across politics, business, entertainment, and sports, negotiators reminded us that collaboration and close attention are needed to resolve disputes and reach innovative deals.
10. Searching the haystack. As reported this year, an unexpected break came in the U.S. Department of Justice’s investigation of large U.S. banks’ role in the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis after an … Read Top 10 Best Pieces of Negotiation Advice of 2015
Financial Negotiations During the Banking Crisis: Did the Mortgage Foreclosure Settlement Meet Its Goals?
The mortgage foreclosure settlement reached by the Obama Administration and major US banks bailed out during the 2008 financial crisis illustrates the importance of an integrative negotiations approach to bargaining with your counterpart. Here are the strategies and techniques employed by each side to reach a consensus on the mortgage foreclosure settlement.
… Read More
What You Can Learn from Putin’s Negotiation Style
In January 2015 the Negotiation Briefings newsletter featured an article, “Dealing with difficult people – even when you don’t want to,” discussing the impasse NATO leaders had reached with Russian President Vladimir Putin with regards to his unilateral actions in the Crimea. Aside from exhibiting obstinacy in the face of a unified European front, Putin … Read More
New Findings in the Field of Negotiation: Session Two
The Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School is pleased to present: New Findings in the Field of Negotiation: Research from the PON Graduate Research Fellows with
Arvid Bell PhD Candidate in political science at Goethe University Frankfurt and
Dana Wolf PhD candidate in public international law at American University Washington College of Law and
Todd Schenk
PhD candidate in environmental policy and planning at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Tuesday, … Read More
Student Opportunity: Harvard International Negotiation Crisis Simulation
The Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School, the Gleitsman Program for Leadership on Social Change at the Center for Public Leadership, the Harvard Kennedy School Negotiation Project, and the Belfer Center’s Future of Diplomacy Project are pleased to announce: Registration Is Now Open for the 1st Annual Harvard International Negotiation Crisis Simulation
Application:
Undergraduates, graduates, and PhD students from … Read More
In Dealmaking, Look for the Needle in the Haystack
When you’re desperate to make a good deal, breakthroughs can come at unexpected times and places. Consider what happened when Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Elias was looking through a sheaf of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. documents while taking care of his newborn son in 2012. At the time, directed by President Barack Obama, the … Read More
For Sony Pictures Execs, The Interview Tested Negotiation Skills
On December 17, Sony Pictures Entertainment made the unprecedented move of canceling the scheduled release of a major motion picture, the Seth Rogen comedy The Interview, due to the threat of terrorist attacks from hackers. The nation’s largest multiplex theater chains had already decided not to show the film in the wake of the threat … Read More
In Rome, Conflict Management Turns Operatic
When financial disputes arise between longstanding partners, both insiders and outsiders often note, “It’s not about the money.” Simmering resentment, mutual blame for ongoing problems, poor communication, and other deep issues often underlie arguments over money and make conflict management all the more difficult. Parties may reach agreement on monetary issues, but if they fail … Read More
Dealmaking: Help Your Agreement Go the Distance
Help your agreement go the distance If your deal doesn’t work in the real world, it’s not worth the paper it’s printed on. Here’s expert advice on increasing the odds of successful implementation.
… Read More
Centrism in the Middle East: Myth or Method
The Harvard International Negotiation Program, the Harvard Global Health Institute and the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School are pleased to co-present:
Centrism in the Middle East:
Myth or Method
Distinguished Lecture by
Najib A. Mikati
former Prime Minister of Lebanon
with opening remarks by
Daniel L. Shapiro
Founder and Director, Harvard International Negotiation Program
Monday, November 24
12:00 – 1:30 p.m.
Austin Hall, Room … Read Centrism in the Middle East: Myth or Method
In Tense International Negotiations, Secrecy and Neutrality Can Be Key
It was a grim and tense backdrop for negotiation. After Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was senselessly shot down over eastern Ukraine on July 17, pro-Russian separatists faced intense international pressure to answer for the tragedy and to speed up their transfer of human remains and the plane’s black boxes out of the conflict zone.
The … Read More
How to Deal When the Going Gets Tough
Most business negotiators understand that by working collaboratively with their counterparts while also advocating strongly on their own behalf, they can build agreements and longterm
relationships that benefit both sides.
During times of economic hardship, however, many negotiators abandon their commitment to cooperation and mutual gains.
Instead, they fall back on competitive tactics, threatening the other … Read How to Deal When the Going Gets Tough
Negotiation Skills: How “Close Calls” Can Hurt You
In the early 1990s, NASA managers and engineers were warned by an expert in risk
analysis that the heat-resistant tiles that protected space shuttles during reentry into Earth’s
atmosphere could be damaged by debris from the insulating foam on the shuttle’s’ fuel tanks.
During missions over the next 10 years, debris did, indeed, hit tiles, but the damage … Read More
Bringing Congress back to the negotiating table
“I’ve always had a Republican partner, every time,” says former Democratic senator Chris Dodd, speaking of his legislative victories during his 30 years of service.
Members of Congress do not always need bipartisan support to push through their legislative agendas, yet some of the most significant initiatives passed by the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives … Read Bringing Congress back to the negotiating table
Negotiators: Prepare to go with the flow
The deal started with an offhand remark at a news conference. In September, as President Barack Obama threatened U.S. military action against Syria, a reporter asked U.S. secretary of state John Kerry if there were any way an attack could be avoided. Syrian president Bashar al-Assad “could turn over every single bit of his chemical … Read Negotiators: Prepare to go with the flow
What aren’t you noticing in your negotiations?
Recently, a corporation that we’ll call Firm A was negotiating to give another company, Firm B, access to its intellectual property. The CEOs reached an oral agreement on deal terms, and the lawyers on both sides began drafting the formal contract.
At this point, Firm B asked for the right to use Firm A’s intellectual property … Read What aren’t you noticing in your negotiations?
International Negotiations: Challenging Multiparty Negotiations Around the Euro
A European Union summit held in late October failed to make much headway toward better coordination of economic policies, the Wall Street Journal reports. Facing resistance from Germany in particular, European officials are growing pessimistic regarding their odds of negotiating a deal over the next year to lay the foundation for a banking union for … Read More
Program on Negotiation Faculty On How To End the US Government Shutdown
The Washington Post’s “On Leadership” column by Jenna McGregor asked renowned negotiation experts on how the government shutdown in Washington, DC could be ended at the bargaining table.
Among the experts interviewed were Robert Mnookin, Chair of the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School (PON) and author of Bargaining With The Devil: When To Negotiate, … Read More
PON Faculty Member Robert Bordone Writes “What Obama Should Say About Syria” for NPR’s Cognoscenti
Program on Negotiation faculty member and Director of the Harvard Negotiation and Mediation Clinical Program at Harvard Law School, Robert Bordone, and HNMCP clinical instructor Alonzo Emery recently published an article for NPR’s Cognoscenti titled “What Obama Should Say About Syria,” in which he discusses the opportunity the crisis in Syria presents for US President … Read More
Dealmaking: What to Do After the Deal Breaks Down
Even with these precautions in place, there will be times when one side demands renegotiation of a deal. Here are some guidelines on how to proceed.
… Read Dealmaking: What to Do After the Deal Breaks Down
An International Negotiation for an All-American Brand
On February 14, the news broke that Berkshire Hathaway, the conglomerate run by Warren Buffett, is planning to purchase H.J. Heinz—and its iconic Heinz ketchup—for $23 billion. Joining Berkshire Hathaway in the acquisition is 3G Capital Management, a Brazilian-backed investment firm that owns a majority stake in Burger King. The deal marks a harmonious pairing … Read More
Learning from the deficit-reduction talks
Does anyone down there know how to cut a deal?” Senate Republican Mitch McConnell said to Vice President Joe Biden. It was Sunday, December 30, 2012, the day before the “fiscal cliff ” deadline, and the minority leader had phoned Biden out of a sense of desperation, report Patrick O’Connor and Peter Nicholas in the … Read Learning from the deficit-reduction talks
Russia’s Adoption Ban Triggers a Diplomatic Crisis
On December 28, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law a ban on adoptions of Russian children by American citizens. The ban was part of a broader law tailored to retaliate against the United States for passing a recent law intended to punish Russian human rights violators, the New York Times reports. Yet it may … Read More
Negotiating the Fiscal Crisis
How can we avert a full-throttle drive over the fiscal cliff? Despite some promising signs of movement on both sides of the aisle, the current negotiation approach – positional bargaining – is bound to bring us dangerously close to the edge.
… Read Negotiating the Fiscal Crisis
Thirteen Days in the Age of Nuclear Threat: Negotiation Lessons for Peaceful Coexistence
In recognition of the 50th Anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis,
PON is pleased to present
Thirteen Days in the Age of Nuclear Threat: Negotiation Lessons for Peaceful Coexistence
with
Bruce Allyn
Author and Practitioner in the field of Conflict Resolution
and
Alain Lempereur
Professor of Coexistence and Conflict Resolution at Brandeis University
Thursday, October 25, 2012
5:30 pm
Langdell North, Room 225
Harvard Law School campus
About … Read More
Europe at a Crossroads: The Story of Greece and What It Reveals About Structural Problems in the Eurozone
On the day before the next European Council Meeting (Oct. 18-19), George Papandreou, former prime minister of Greece, will talk about the crisis in Europe, how Greece points to deeper problems within the European Union, and why a stronger integration of member states could be a way forward. He will be in conversation with economist, … Read More
What Constitutes an Apology?
Psychologists Bruce Darby and Barry Schlenker at the University of Florida have defined apologies as “admissions of blameworthiness and regret for an undesirable event.” In negotiation, such undesirable events might include betraying a counterpart’s trust, making a disparaging remark about him, or falling through on a promise.
… Read What Constitutes an Apology?
Resolving Conflicts on the High Seas
In negotiation over a limited pool of resources, conflicts often spring up over what constitutes a fair agreement. If two business partners are going their separate ways, they might have different ideas about how their shared assets should be divided, for example. Currently, such a dispute is playing out between China and four of its … Read Resolving Conflicts on the High Seas
Are you asking enough questions?
At the time of the final presidential debate between President Jimmy Carter and challenger Ronald Reagan during the 1980 election campaign, the U.S. economy was tanking and the Iranian hostage crisis smoldering. Ronald Reagan used his concluding statement of the debate to address a string of questions to the nation that highlighted Carter’s vulnerabilities: “Are … Read Are you asking enough questions?
Why it pays to haggle
Adapted from “Master the Art and Science of Haggling,” first published in the Negotiation newsletter, August 2009.
Businesses that never would have considered negotiating with customers before the global economic crisis are now willing, even eager, to make a deal. Just like the prices of houses, cars, and other big-ticket items, the prices of furniture, electronics, … Read Why it pays to haggle
Avoiding “Close Calls” in Negotiation
Adapted from “How ‘Close Calls’ Can Hurt You,” first published in the Negotiation newsletter, October 2009.
In the early 1990s, NASA managers and engineers were warned by an expert in risk analysis that the heat-resistant tiles that protected space shuttles during reentry into Earth’s atmosphere could be damaged by debris from the insulating foam on the … Read Avoiding “Close Calls” in Negotiation
Should You Ignore a Threat
Adapted from “Threat Response at the Bargaining Table,” first published in the Negotiation newsletter.
Consider how you would respond to threats and ultimatums such as these during a negotiation:
• “If you try to back out, you’ll never work in this industry again.”
• “Give us what we want, or we’ll see you in court.”
• “That’s our final … Read Should You Ignore a Threat
Announcing the 2010 PON Summer Fellows
About the PON Summer Fellowship Program:
PON offers fellowship grants to students at Harvard University, MIT, Tufts University and other Boston-area schools who are doing internships or undertaking summer research projects in negotiation and dispute resolution in partnership with public, non-profit or academic organizations. The Summer Fellowship Program’s emphasis is on advancing the links between … Read Announcing the 2010 PON Summer Fellows
Tough Tactics: Do ‘Death Threats’ Really Work?
What would you do if someone threatened you? Strike back? Run away? Beg for mercy? Try to negotiate?
Last April, The New York Times in effect held a gun to the heads of Boston Globe employees – twice. The confrontation, say experts at the Harvard Program on Negotiation, offers valuable lessons in handling high-risk, high-stakes situations.
Background: … Read Tough Tactics: Do ‘Death Threats’ Really Work?
Keeping Your Cool when the Negotiations Get Hot
On the heels of an intricate negotiation, conditions change for the worse. Crops fail, the price of oil skyrockets, one side issues an earnings restatement, or the market as a whole is a lot less promising than it was when you negotiated the initial terms. Suddenly your agreement has lost its luster. How should you … Read Keeping Your Cool when the Negotiations Get Hot
Does Negotiation Have a Place in Crisis Management?
Does negotiation have a place in crisis management? Many public relations experts would argue no. When a company is confronted with negative publicity, they are advised to reveal as little as possible and denounce their attackers claim. This advice ignores the fact that what an angry public wants is to be heard.
After stranding thousands of … Read More