One Step Ahead

February 3, 2020
Negotiation isn’t a war, it’s a game—and it’s possible to learn how to play it, writes behavioral economist Sally (coauthor, The Numbers Game) in this valuable primer. Sally has taught negotiation to MBA students for 25 years, and found the two gold standards on the subject in business literature, Getting to Yes and How to Win Friends and Influence People, useful, but lacking when it comes to the crucial piece: learning to understand and respond to the opposing party. Reliably winning high-level negotiations, he proposes, requires becoming a world-class analytical observer of other people. Sally notes that the best negotiators are those who are simply better prepared on every level—from doing the research about the other party to understanding their own biases. Informed by game theory, the book covers how to pick the right battles, be fair as well as tough, manage gender stereotypes, be consistently “one step ahead,” and approach numbers as a valuable resource, rather than a necessary evil. Entertaining and conversational, this is an important tool for getting to yes, as well as understanding exactly what will prompt an opponent to say it.

Starred review from March 1, 2020

From 25 years of teaching negotiation (Johnson Sch., Cornell Univ.; Tuck Sch. of Business, Dartmouth Coll.), innovative strategist and behavioral economist Sally has discovered that the key to successful negotiation is to realize that it's a psychological and social process. Sally writes that being able to recognize certain things about the person with whom you are negotiating and to adapt one's strategy accordingly is key. He further assists readers in knowing when and when not to negotiate, and which of their personality traits will help in a negotiation and how to cultivate these characteristics. Research, practical scenarios, and countless examples from business reinforce Sally's instruction. VERDICT A comprehensive guidebook delivering valuable skills to apply in both business and personal relationships.

Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2020
How to become "a mindful, sophisticated negotiator." Behavioral economist Sally, a veteran teacher of negotiations at Cornell and Dartmouth, goes beyond his two favorite books on the topic--How To Win Friends and Influence People ("not scientific") and Getting To Yes ("limited")--to explain how "becoming an analytical observer of the people around you" is the path to more effective negotiation. In this appealing, well-written book, he covers the skills and moves of outstanding negotiators, who "read" their counterparts, react, and create winning outcomes. The single most important factor for successful negotiators, writes the author, is toughness--not belligerent but rather determined and focused. Thorough preparation is critical. Advanced practitioners multitask, "practice, practice, practice," and exhibit Edgar Allan Poe's qualities of a con man: "minuteness, interest, perseverance, ingenuity, audacity, nonchalance, originality, impertinence, and grin." They are "Machiavelli-esque," combining concepts from game theory with insights from social psychology. Sally draws on a wonderful array of sources to illustrate his points, including beauty contests, TV wrestling, sociologist Erving Goffman's insights into "framing negotiation as a drama," John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath, the Korean armistice talks, and U.N. diplomat Gianni Picco's preparations for his early 1990s negotiations to free Western hostages in Lebanon. Whether discussing the advantages of a Columbo-like "surface incompetence" or of changing a bargaining persona "as if it were a mask," the author fully explores the nuances of interactions. He also celebrates Richard Holbrooke's winning "performance" during talks to end the Bosnia conflict, when the American diplomat's troubled expression forced counterparts to ask, "What is it?" and Holbrooke said, "I'm worried. I don't know if it's going to work." There are detailed chapters on key aspects of negotiation, from drama, acting, and performance to fairness, gender, and emotions. Not a quick read like many similar books but rather a deep, thoughtful master class on the "negotiation game."

COPYRIGHT(2020) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.