• 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, to name just a few. If we... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

• 08 Apr 2002
• Research & Ideas

How to Negotiate “Yes” Across Cultural Boundaries

Cultural differences can influence business negotiations in significant and unexpected ways, as many a hapless dealmaker has learned. In some cases, it's a matter of ignorance or blatant disrespect, as with the American salesman who presented a potential Saudi Arabian... View Details

Keywords: by James K. Sebenius

• July 3, 2014
• Comment

Comment on the Final Round of Iranian Nuclear Talks Before the Joint Plan of Action Expires (on July 20, 2014)

By: James K. Sebenius

As six months of talks soon end with wide gaps likely remaining on key issues, P5+1 and Iranian diplomats will undoubtedly cite some tangible progress, then argue for a six-month extension. This will likely become a pattern, with some version of the interim deal... View Details

Keywords: International Relations; Negotiation Tactics; Negotiation Deal; Iran; United States

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Sebenius, James K. "Comment on the Final Round of Iranian Nuclear Talks Before the Joint Plan of Action Expires (on July 20, 2014)." Iran Matters (July 3, 2014). (Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School.)

• 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

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Wheeler, Michael A., and Gillian Morris. "Complexity Theory and Negotiation." Harvard Business School Background Note 902-230, June 2002.

• January–February 2025
• Article

What People Still Get Wrong About Negotiations: They Assume the Size of the Pie Is Fixed—and So Miss Opportunities to Create Value

By: Max H. Bazerman

Most executives leave value on the negotiating table, for two main reasons: First, many executives mistakenly believe that they’re negotiating over a fixed pie and that gains for one side necessarily mean losses for the other. Second, they focus exclusively on how to... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Offer; Negotiation Tactics; Value; Communication; Trust

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Bazerman, Max H. "What People Still Get Wrong About Negotiations: They Assume the Size of the Pie Is Fixed—and So Miss Opportunities to Create Value." Harvard Business Review 103, no. 1 (January–February 2025): 71–77.

• April 1996
• Case

Silver Lane Apartments

By: William J. Poorvu and John H. Vogel Jr.

Scott Johnson is a successful developer of single-family and multi-family housing who specializes in renovating and turning around poorly performing apartments in good locations. He plans to sell a 506-unit property for portfolio and estate planning purposes. This case... View Details

Keywords: Housing; Mortgages; Property; Negotiation Tactics; Real Estate Industry

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Poorvu, William J., and John H. Vogel Jr. "Silver Lane Apartments." Harvard Business School Case 396-330, April 1996.

• July 2000 (Revised October 2019)
• Exercise

Riggs-Vericomp Negotiation (A):Confidential Information for RIGGS ENGINEERING (Seller)

By: Michael Wheeler

The seller (Riggs Engineering) manufactures and services recycling equipment for the computer industry. The buyer (Vericomp) uses solvents in manufacturing chips. Though set in a high-tech industry, this exercise illustrates fundamental aspects of negotiation analysis... View Details

Keywords: Agreements and Arrangements; Negotiation Participants; Negotiation Tactics; Value Creation; Computer Industry

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Wheeler, Michael. "Riggs-Vericomp Negotiation (A):Confidential Information for RIGGS ENGINEERING (Seller)." Harvard Business School Exercise 801-096, July 2000. (Revised October 2019.)

• November 1996 (Revised July 1997)
• Case

Alexander Plaza

By: Arthur I Segel and William J. Poorvu

In May 1996, Henry Bower, an asset manager for a real estate adviser, Medcem, has to negotiate the details of a lease after signing a letter of intent with a high technology company, Defentek, Inc. Defentek, Inc. is a fast-growing company with limited net worth that is... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Tactics; Negotiation Preparation; Agreements and Arrangements; Risk and Uncertainty; Real Estate Industry; Financial Services Industry; District of Columbia

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Segel, Arthur I., and William J. Poorvu. "Alexander Plaza." Harvard Business School Case 897-066, November 1996. (Revised July 1997.)

• 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

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Light, Jay O., and Anthony Massaro. "Intuitive Surgical - Negotiating the Deal." Harvard Business School Case 202-094, January 2002. (Revised March 2002.)

• April 1996 (Revised August 2005)
• Case

Jedi Bank

By: William J. Poorvu and John H. Vogel Jr.

Major Insurance Co. is a $15 billion insurance company that is an active, multi-family mortgage leader. This case is part of a negotiation game simulation that also includes Sunshine Villas, Silver Lane Apartments, and Jason Bosworth. View Details

Keywords: Mortgages; Interest Rates; Financing and Loans; Property; Negotiation Tactics; Management; Real Estate Industry; Banking Industry

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Poorvu, William J., and John H. Vogel Jr. "Jedi Bank." Harvard Business School Case 396-327, April 1996. (Revised August 2005.)

• Web

Protecting Yourself Against Phishing | Information Technology

should never ask you for your password or other personal information by an email. Common Phishing Tactics Phishers are getting smarter. While there are still some who give themselves away by using bad grammar or spelling, this is not... View Details

• March 1998
• Case

Bumper Acquisition (B), A

By: James K. Sebenius and David T. Kotchen

Picks up the negotiation between Thermo-Impact and Medallion Capital where the (A1) and A2) cases leave off. The companies began talks in 1995 when Medallion offered to buy Thermo-Impact. This case brings the negotiation through May 1996. Students view developments... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Process; Negotiation Tactics; Negotiation Participants; Decision Making; Entrepreneurship; Manufacturing Industry; Auto Industry; Illinois

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Sebenius, James K., and David T. Kotchen. "Bumper Acquisition (B), A." Harvard Business School Case 898-200, March 1998.

• 07 Aug 2017
• Blog Post

A Summer Internship with the City of Boston

world-class university make great education free and accessible, anywhere in the world?—to knotty tactical decisions—should we ask small-dollar donors to give $5.25 or $7.50?  While many of my clients’ goals were political in nature, I... View Details

• 01 Jun 2002
• News

History Matters

companies like Intuit, Heinz, and Whole Foods benefited from following these maxims. “Past experience offers several landmarks to help guide marketers' thinking as they plot a course through choppy strategic and tactical seas,” concluded... View Details