Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In

This book is kind of the benchmark, I think, for books on negotiating. It was written by three Harvard professors who collectively chair some foundation or think tank about negotiating. And not just business negotiating – many of their examples come from the United Nations, and represent nations negotiating over territory and whether or not to go to war.

They break down the process and give you for major steps for getting to an agreement, all espousing a philosophy they call “principled negotiation.” Things like:

• Separate the debate from the person

• Negotiate over objectives, not positions

• Negotiate against an objective standard

All wonderful advice, and all backed up by many examples.

And, if your “opponent” resorts to dirty tricks, they have sections on how to handle it when the other side doesn’t play fair.

The book is currently in its third edition. I was fun to read the prefaces to the second and third editions, chronicling the impact the book has had around the world over decades.