Publications

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17 Sep 2014
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpen Your Negotiation Skills

No business skill may be as important to success as negotiation. We negotiate everything: agreements with partners and vendors, in-scope/out-of-scope parameters around important projects, and our own compensation and job responsibilities,... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

August 2000 (Revised December 2014)
Background Note

Negotiation Analysis: An Introduction

By: Michael A. Wheeler

Provides an overview of the seven elements of negotiation analysis. These elements include BATNAs (nonagreement walk-aways), parties, interests, value-creation, barriers to agreements, power, and ethics. Illustrations are drawn from a range of contexts (from buying a... View Details

Keywords: Framework; Negotiation Tactics; Negotiation Preparation

June 2002
Background Note

Complexity Theory and Negotiation

By: Michael A. Wheeler and Gillian Morris

This case highlights an application of current thoughts in complexity science to negotiation theory. It emphasizes a provocative approach that questions much of traditional negotiation research thus far. The case explains the roots of complexity science and some broad... View Details

Keywords: Complexity; Negotiation Tactics; Outcome or Result; Interpersonal Communication

2011
Working Paper

From Single Deals to Negotiation Campaigns

By: David A Lax and James K. Sebenius

Negotiation scholars typically take the individual deal, or a few linked deals, as the unit of analysis. While analyzing one deal requires a familiar conceptual framework, doing the same for a broader "negotiation campaign" calls for a different focus and set of... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Deal; Framework; Business Subsidiaries; Agreements and Arrangements; Mergers and Acquisitions; Information Management; Finance; Business and Shareholder Relations; Corporate Governance; Business and Government Relations; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues

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Jun 03 2016
Interview

A Tactical Game Plan for Making the Best M&A Deal

03 Oct 2007
Research & Ideas

Dealing with the ‘Irrational’ Negotiator

What do you do when the people with whom you are negotiating act in ways that can best be called counterproductive? Before throwing up your hands, take a deep breath and ask yourself 3 questions. Do these people lack good information? Are... View Details

Keywords: by Deepak Malhotra & Max H. Bazerman

15 Oct 2018
Research & Ideas

Shaky Business: How Handshakes Win Negotiations

see whether handshaking might still help with negotiating deals. “ If your instinct is not to shake, it would be wise to think of sending another signal of cooperation” They found that shaking hands is a powerful gesture that creates a... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

Web

Negotiating - Alumni

standards/goals Geographic flexibility Office space Paid travel Ownership options Professional training + – Negotiate The following tactics can help you conduct productive negotiations. Speak with the hiring... View Details

December 2010
Supplement

Everything or Nothing: Martti Ahtisaari and the Aceh Negotiations (B)

By: James K. Sebenius and Alex Green

Describes Martti Ahtisaari's negotiating strategies and tactics along with the results of his efforts to end the decades-long conflict between Acehnese insurgents and the Indonesian government that had claimed thousands of lives. View Details

Keywords: Government and Politics; Agreements and Arrangements; Negotiation Tactics; Conflict of Interests; Strategy; Indonesia

June 2014
Supplement

Ad Classification at Right Media — slide supplement (widescreen)

By: Benjamin Edelman

Right Media considers systems and policies to make sure that ads are only shown on web sites where they are appropriate, and vice versa. Setting standards is particularly challenging given the large and growing marketplace, the numerous participants, their diverse... View Details

Keywords: Media; Online Advertising; Market Participation; Negotiation Tactics; Communication; Marketing Communications; Digital Marketing; Standards

January 2002 (Revised April 2015)
Background Note

A Note on Maneuvering in War and Negotiation

By: Michael Wheeler and Gillian Morris

Military metaphors are commonplace in business writing about strategy, but they are rarely used in the negotiation literature. This case takes the Marine Corps philosophy of warfighting and compares it with the tactics and techniques of effective negotiators. Some of... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Tactics; Situation or Environment; Conflict and Resolution; War; Adaptation

30 Jun 2014
Lessons from the Classroom

The Role of Emotions in Effective Negotiations

A simple view of negotiation presents a cold transaction between what one person has and what the other person is willing to pay for it. If the price is right, the deal gets done. As anyone who has recently bought a car or sold a house... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Entertainment & Recreation; Sports

February 2006 (Revised March 2006)
Case

Negotiating on Thin Ice: The 2004-2005 NHL Dispute (A)

By: Deepak Malhotra and Maly Hout

On September 15, 2004, the existing collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the National Hockey League (NHL) and the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) expired. Because the two sides had failed to negotiate a new CBA by that date, NHL... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Tactics; Negotiation Participants; Trust; Sports; Compensation and Benefits; Sports Industry; United States

January 2002 (Revised March 2002)
Case

Intuitive Surgical - Negotiating the Deal

By: Jay O. Light and Anthony Massaro

Two cofounders of a company enter into a negotiation to set the terms of a start-up in the field of laparoscopic surgery. View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Tactics; Negotiation Style; Negotiation Deal; Health Care and Treatment; Business Startups; Health Industry

April 1995 (Revised March 1996)
Background Note

Framing and Negotiation

How can framing--alternative description of an object, event, or situation--can be used effectively in negotiation? A real estate dialog is used to illustrate three common varieties of framing: losses versus gains; short and long horizons; and aggregation and... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Tactics

May 2013
Article

How to Negotiate with VCs

By: Deepak Malhotra

VC-entrepreneur partnership agreements often contain flaws that become highly damaging as the parties come up against issues of power, trust, and much more. Yet many of the flaws are systematic and predictable—and hence preventable. The author, a longtime consultant to... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Negotiation Tactics; Entrepreneurship

Find at Harvard

August 1996 (Revised December 1996)
Background Note

Two Psychological Traps in Negotiation

Two psychological traps, anchoring and framing, and their role in negotiation are described. The anchoring section describes how first or opening offers can be used effectively in negotiation. Examines how opening offers serve as an anchor, changing one side's... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Tactics

12 Oct 1999
Research & Ideas

Building Bridges: New Dimensions in Negotiation

From resolving a labor dispute to orchestrating a merger to getting a new company off the ground, negotiation plays a vital role in nearly every facet of business. In response, Professor James Sebenius, founder of the HBS View Details

Keywords: by Anita M. Harris

July–August 2016
Article

How to Negotiate with a Liar

By: Leslie John

People, including negotiators, lie every day, so when you're trying to make a deal, it's important to defend against deception. The best strategy, says the author, is to focus not on detecting lies but on preventing them. She outlines five tactics that research has... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Tactics; Negotiation Participants