Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant and practical
Review: Easy to follow and quite well-written, "Getting to Yes" also delivers what it promises. Can't recommend it highly enough.
Rating: 
Summary: The most popular book on negotiation
Review: Roger Fisher and William Ury are responsible for breaking new ground on the subject of negotiation with this best seller. They are also co-founders of the Harvard Program on Negotiation (www.pon.org), the pre-eminent think tank on negotiation based at Harvard University. Rather than focus on negotiation tactics, this book uses decision making skills and analytical skills to resolve conflict.Also known as the "Harvard Approach" or the "Harvard Five Step Approach," Getting to Yes provides the reader with a five step approach to negotiation. Step one is to "separate the people from the problem." Put another way, don't get personal when you negotiate. Most books on "win-win" negotiation stress this point, so there is nothing new here. Steps 2 through 5 completely redefined negotiation strategy, however and deserve close attention. Step two is to determine the underlying needs or interests of the parties. The premise for this point is that negotiator's positions in negotiation are rarely consistent with their underlying needs. Step three is to develop options to address these needs. This "solution" section is where the rubber meets the road in negotiation. The goal here is to exploit the differences in each parties underlying needs so you can achieve a "win-win" result. Step four is to determine your BATNA (best alternative to a negotiated agreement.) Your BATNA is your deadlock or "walk-away" point. Put simply you will be able to determine when to deadlock if you can determine what your alternatives to negotiation are. If the other negotiator's offer is worse than your best alternative to negotiation, then you should turn down the offer and go with your alternative. This step provides you with an objective, non-emotional approach to making rational decisions during the negotiation process and justifies the price of the book. The last step to to develop "objective criteria" or independant standards to resolve conflict. An objective criteria is a solution that is independent from the control of both persons (such as using the CPI to determine the rate of inflation in a rental agreement, or using a property appraiser to determine the fair market value of property at some point in the future.) Like all collaborative negotiation books, Getting to Yes is a valuable book IF there is a relatively free flow of information between the parties and if the parties are willing to collaborate. If these conditions exist, you can come up with "win-win" solutions that will stand the test of time. But I wouldn't take this book onto a car lot...or for that matter into any negotiation where the other party won't take a collaborative approach to the negotiation process.
Rating:
Summary: A must have for the library
Review: This book will give you a valuable insight on how to use subtle negotiation techniques to swing the tide of a meeting in your favor. It's required reading with most business courses.
Rating:
Summary: It is small, practical and it makes a lot of sense.
Review: The authors present a clear methodology for any kind of negotiation. I liked the book in that it has just the right amount of explanation for every topic. The presentation is clear and concise.
It is not only the way it is written, but the methodology really works. I found myself using its principles ("Being soft on the people and hard on the problem") with great results, even before I had finished the book!
I truly recommend it. It is a mind opener for all of us with no previous knowledge on negotiation.
Rating:
Summary: Insightful and Valuable
Review: Very Valuable
This book is valuable for negotiators representing themselves or other parties in complex disputes. It is also valuable for dealing with non-business related disputes. Getting To Yes offers valuable insight into the psychology of disputes and dispute resolution. It empowers you in ordinary situations such as buying a car or settling a personal insurance claim. I read it again and again before I serve as a negotiator and also before I act as a third-party mediator. I also recommend Basic Skills for the New Mediator and Basic Skills for the New Arbitrator by Allan H. Goodman for those interested in aiding people in settling disputes.
Rating:
Summary: good but could have been better
Review: The authors of Getting to Yes are definitely on the right track but they seem to be relying too much on their intuition in drawing conclusions about the proper way to negotiate. The book would be much better if they could formulate their ideas in terms of game theory. Their approach towards negotiation is certainly correct but it lacks proper theoretical framework. It is not enough just to know that cooperation yields better results than confrontation. Seeking mutual interests may indeed be preferable over playing a hard ball but if a negotiator can't explain this pattern of behavior in terms of a coherent theory then he will remain confined by the limits of his intuition. Intuition is certainly a great thing to have but it is not enough.
Game theory can explain the essence of mutual-gain negotiation but it can also reveal its limitations. I wish the authors could remember the prisoners' dilemma example from their undergraduate economics classes. Then they could have made the book even more valuable then it is.
Rating:
Summary: It Works!
Review: After using this book to lead a workshop in "Negotiating and
Influencing Skills," pariticpants reported back to me on their
successes. One particpant, who was searching for a new job, reported that she was able to negotiate an opening salary $5,000 higher than the initial offer. Another bought a horse
that had been priced at $10,000 for only $6,000 and left the previous owner delighted with what the sale could include, other than money. I could relate other success stories here.
My point is that, not only is "Getting to Yes" easy to understand, it works. A Quick read with potent suggestions.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent negotiation introduction
Review: It is an excellent book especially if you look for an introduction into the negotiation field. It provides good, real examples. Through this it is easy for the reader to capture the essential statements. One minus is that many examples are not up-to-date dating back to the 60ies and 70ies
Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: Simply the very best for the foundations for every type of negotiation. Great book!
Rating:
Summary: Arrogant in their intent but admirable in their method
Review: The authors propose that all the world's difficulties could be resolved if only parties adhered to the principles of negotiation outlined in this book. I doubt, of course, that the Israelis and Palenstinians, for example, could find an ever-lasting peace simply by adhering to the principles laid out in this book. Such thinking is reductive, naive and quite possibly arrogant. In any event, that caveat aside, what the authors present is an interesting set of tools one can use in negotiating with another party. While most people will find themselves negotiating in situations far less dire than that of the Israelis and Palestinians (a business deal, a divorce, inheritances, etc.), the tools _in theory_ are applicable everywhere. However, the authors fail to prove that the tools are _in practice_ applicable everywhere. This failure to prove the tools' applicability in practice may be attributable to the authors' hailing from the theoretical shield of academia.
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