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Getting to Yes
Negotiating an Agreement Without Giving In
Getting to Yes (1981) is considered the reference for successful negotiations. It presents proven tools and techniques that can help you to resolve any conflict and find win-win solutions.
- Anyone interested in improving their negotiation skills, whether for use at work, at home, or both.
- Anyone who wants to learn how to find win-win solutions to almost any conflict
Roger Fisher (1922–2012) was an American professor at Harvard Law School. With his co-authors, he founded the Harvard Negotiation Project.
William Ury is an anthropologist who works as a peace negotiator for corporations and governments worldwide.
Bruce Patton is a Harvard lecturer and co-founder of Vantage Partners, an international consultancy firm that helps companies improve their negotiations.
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Getting to Yes
Negotiating an Agreement Without Giving In
- Read in 16 minutes
- Audio & text available
- Contains 11 key ideas
Synopsis
Getting to Yes (1981) is considered the reference for successful negotiations. It presents proven tools and techniques that can help you to resolve any conflict and find win-win solutions.
Key idea 1 of 11
Learn to negotiate well; everything is based on negotiations.
This is sometimes hard to imagine, but just a few decades ago decisions were rarely made as a result of discussions or negotiations. They were usually made by one person: whoever was in charge.
Back then, the world was a place of hierarchy: at home, every decision concerning the family was made by the “wise father,” and at work, everybody adhered to the path dictated by the company’s boss.
Today, such authoritarian structures are increasingly rare. Hierarchies are flatter, information is more accessible, and more and more people participate in decisions at all levels.
Hence, it has become much more important for us to talk to others and include them in our decision-making processes. Politicians now talk to their voters, and companies encourage their employees to participate in company decisions.
Even parent-child interactions are becoming more democratic. In the age of Google, parents can no longer simply say, “Don’t do this; it’s unhealthy,” because their child can just go online, find counterevidence and argue their claim.
Today, finding agreements in any area of life means negotiating. Arguing with friends about which movie to see is very different to haggling over prices with suppliers or negotiating international arms embargos, yet in many ways all negotiations are similar to each other.
By arming yourself with the right knowledge and tools, you can vastly improve the outcomes of all your negotiations. And since every day of your life involves some kind of negotiating, it’s well worth your time to do so.
Learn to negotiate well; everything is based on negotiations.
Key ideas in this title
- Learn to negotiate well; everything is based on negotiations.
- Avoid trench warfare. It costs a lot and brings very little in return.
- Keep in mind that you’re negotiating with people.
- Fight the problem, not the person you’re negotiating with.
- Before you search for solutions, understand both parties’ underlying interests.
- Outline options before you search for solutions.
- Always find objective criteria to base your decision on.
- To negotiate well, you have to be well-prepared.
- Negotiation is communication: listen and stick to talking about facts!
- Even the best tools can’t always guarantee success.
- Final Summary
