Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In » (Reprint)

Roger Fisher teaches negotiation at Harvard Law School, where he is Williston Professor of Law emeritus and director of the Harvard Negotiation Project. Raised in Illinois, he served in WWII with the U.S. Army Air Force, in Paris with the Marshall Plan, and in Washington D.C., with the Department of Justice. He consults widely with governments, corporations, and individuals through Conflict Management, Inc., and the Conflict Management Group of Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Getting to Yes offers a concise, step-by-step, proven strategy for coming to mutually acceptable agreements in every sort of conflict--whether it involves parents and children, neighbors, bosses and employees, customers or corporations, tenants or diplomats. Based on the work of the Harvard Negotiation Project, a group that deals continually with all levels of negotiation and conflict resolution from domestic to business to international, Getting to Yes tells you how to:

• Separate the people from the problem;
• Focus on interests, not positions;
• Work together to create options that will satisfy both parties; and
• Negotiate successfully with people who are more powerful, refuse to play by the rules, or resort to "dirty tricks."

Acknowledgments ..... xi
Introduction ..... xvii

Part I: The Problem ..... 1

Chapter 1: Don't Bargain Over Positions ..... 3

Part II: The Method ..... 15

Chapter 2: Separate the PEOPLE from the Problem ..... 17
Chapter 3: Focus on INTERESTS, Not Positions ..... 40
Chapter 4: Invent OPTIONS for Mutual Gain ..... 56
Chapter 5: Insist on Using Objective Criteria ..... 81

Part III: Yes, But ..... 95

Chapter 6: What If They Are More Powerful? ..... 97
Chapter 7: What If They Won't Play? ..... 107
Chapter 8: What If They Use Dirty Tricks? ..... 129

Part IV: In Conclusion ..... 145

Part V: Ten Questions People Ask About Getting to Yes ..... 149

Analytical table of Contents ..... 189
A Note on the Harvard Negotiation Project ..... 199
Question 1: "Does positional bargaining ever make sense?"
Question 2: "What if the other side believes in a different standard of fairness?"
Question 3: "Should I be fair if I don't have to be?"
Question 4: "What do I do if the people are the problem?"
Question 5: "Should I negotiate even with terrorists or someone like Hitler? When does it make sense not to negotiate?"
Question 6: "How should I adjust my negotiating approach to account for differences of personality, gender, culture, and so on?"
Question 7: "How do I decide things like 'Where should we meet?' 'Who should make the first offer?' and 'How high should I start?'"
Question 8: "Concretely, how do I move from inventing options to making commitments?"
Question 9: "How do I try out these ideas without taking too much risk?"
Question 10: "Can the way I negotiate really make a difference if the other side is more powerful?" And "How do I enhance my negotiating power?"