Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In

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Summary: YOU WILL USE THIS BOOK - EVERYDAY - IN EVERY SITUATION
Review: How can you improve the way you handle confict situations? What are the steps in achieving a 'win-win' outcome? This book helps you identify your (& the other party's) interests, options, standards, and BATNA (best alternative to a negotiated agreement). We applied this principled approach at a Alternative Dispute Resolution class offered at NYIT to Human Resource Management graduate students. During the semester we used exercises & simulations to negotiate workplace, community & family conflicts. With each case the principled approach helped us examine the causes & consequences of disputes and helped us find creative solutions.

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Summary: Most practical book on the subject.
Review: I have read many books on negotiation. I'm working on a PhD in Conflict management. It is the most practical book that I've read so far.

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Summary: # 2 in my top ten list of Books on Negotiating
Review: The foundation of all great negotiation books, Getting to Yes gives you the real essence of mutual gains negotiation. It's a neat, concise, little paperback, and a fast read. It's so neat and concise, in fact, that you should buy multiple copies and hand them out to people you like - or to people you want to like you. I've read it a dozen or so times and I keep finding new insights. The main ideas of the book are that positional negotiation is pointless, and that our negotiations should focus on interests rather than positions. As far as I'm concerned, if that's the only thing you recall from reading this book, you'll have learned something indispensable. But, by the time you finish Getting to Yes, you'll be convinced that negotiation is a simple matter of figuring out what you really want, what the other side wants, and working out the space where those interests intersect -- despite the generalizations, deletions, and distortions the other side might use to confuse you. One of the leading fundamental constructs presented in Getting to Yes - which differs radically from my own number one tenet - is "separate the people from the problem." Getting to Yes proposes that problems exist objectively and can be analyzed on their own merits, independent of people's perceptions, attributions, and relationships. My contention is that a problem only exists to whatever extent it is perceived by the beholder. As such , there is no problem if you separate the people from it. In real life, it's impossible to disentangle people issues from discussions of "concrete substance." Regardless of the prescriptive in Getting to Yes, real problem solving negotiations require constant simultaneous attention to the problem and the people. The skills you really need to extract and understand others' perceived interests in the context of a relationship aren't taught in Getting to Yes. The book diagnoses the conditions that cause difficulty in negotiation, but doesn't offer all components of the cure. Nevertheless, one dose each of Sales Effectiveness Training and Getting to Yes should cure just about anything that ails any normal negotiation. As John Kenneth Galbraith says of Getting to Yes, "This is by far the best thing I've ever read about negotiation...equally relevant for the individual who would like to keep his friends, property, and income and the statesman who would like to keep the peace." What other endorsement do you need?

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Summary: Excellent introduction to pratical negotiation
Review: I've turned to this book on many occasions to learn better techniques for making valuable long-term decisions and good short-term ones, as well. The authors use of case histories places the emphasis on the praticality and usefulness of being a 'principled negotiator'.

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Summary: Oranges
Review: Two sisters argue about an orange; they finally settle and get half each. One grates the peel for a pie and throws away the pulp, the other presses her half, drinks the juice and throws the peel.

This book is about how to avoid such situations.

It is clever, well written, pleasant to read, and above all useful

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Summary: Don't take it personally!
Review: I must confess I ordered and read this book because my new boss recommended it. Well, now that we have unpacked all the boxes from our move to take this job - I find we have about 5 copies of this book. This book is GREAT! This is not a new book but has been read by millions of people and is now a classic. The first edition came out in 1981 and the second edition 10 years later. The newest edition benefits from many updates and has an additional chapter (#10) with common questions (and answers) that people have commonly asked about Getting to Yes. This new chapter really helps the reader to understand the method better - in fact I can't imagine the book without it. One of the best things that authors Fisher, Ury and Patton do in this popular book do is give the reader a practical framework for developing better relationships that lead to better outcomes in life and work. The ideas are helpful in getting along with family as well as in the workplace. In many cases their methods will sound like things you already knew and have practiced in some of the more successful moments in your life. However, the book puts it all in perspective and gives you the complete picture to know why it works better when you focus on helping the other person get what they want so you can, too. After reading Getting to Yes you will be more prepared to negotiate more effectively in every type of situation. This book helped me decide I like the new boss, too!

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Summary: Introduction to the art of negotiation
Review: From "Getting to Yes":

"Reading the pamphlet on the Royal Canadian Air Force exercises will not make you physically fit. Studying books on tennis, swimming, riding a bicycle, or riding a horse will not make you an expert. Negotiation is no different."

Wise words indeed. Anyone expecting a "how-to" method from any book on negotiation is in the wrong field of study. The best one can expect is a general framework, and that is what this book provides.

Fisher and Ury advocate what they refer to as "principled negotiation", a style of negotiation where there are no winners and losers. Agreements are reached rationally by considering the motives each party has for maintaining a their position. People are separated from the issues at hand, and emotions are controlled. There is a strong emphasis on rationality, using objective criteria.

Unfortunately, human beings aren't always capable of controlling their emotions and being rational. Or sometimes simply refuse to negotiate. Fisher and Ury recognize this, and provide a framework for tackling these issues, centered on what they call BATNA (Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement).

Overall a great book, but, as the authors themselves would concede, no substitution to negotiation experience.

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Summary: Great, Easy Intro into Negotiation
Review: This book is a great overview of negotiation for the beginner or those interested in improving relationships in general. Advanced management types will most certainly get something from it as well.

The information is well-organized and the writing style is extremely accessible. The chapters build on each other logically and you'll get something from this book almost immediately.

Great to keep for reference, especially before big meetings. A solid addition to any manager's bookshelf.

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Summary: Negotiations don't have to end in a WIN-LOSE situation
Review: I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning how to negotiate in a way that respects people and seeks to benefit both parties simultaneously. As a negotiating novice, this book was highly informative. The book lays out many useful general principles about productive negotiations in a clear and well organized fashion. It is a short book (200 pages) and well worth the effort if you are at all interested in learning how to negotiate in a respectable fashion.

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Summary: No One Has Topped It
Review: This is the timeless book that launched the concepts of "principled negotiation." Some criticize it here for its simplicity or even redundancy, but its power lies there.

Before this book, what we saw written about negotiation was how to win, and do so competitively or at the expense of the other party.

After this book, Stephen Covey was able to speak credibly about "win-win or no deal." The idea that no negotiation is successful without some advantage to both parties was, if not pioneered in this book, explained with greater reality and clarity than ever before. And where, before, did we learn what BATNA means and how vital it is to gaining and maintaining leverage in any negotiation?

I think that some of the negative reviews are grounded in the actual widespread acceptance of this book's principles. In other words, "OK, yeah, Henry Ford democratized the automobile, but we've moved so far beyond the Model T..."

Well, that might be true. But there is still great value in a deep understanding of the fundamentals.

To the new reader, you have here a lively and engaging style of learning. To the seasoned professional, there is still something to learn.