G. Richard Shell > Quotes

“To be good, you must learn to be yourself at the bargaining table.”
― G. Richard Shell, Bargaining for Advantage: Negotiation Strategies for Reasonable People

“The first law of business: Make the rules or your rivals will”
― G Richard Shell, Make the Rules or Your Rivals Will

“In markets, you gain leverage by your power to walk away. Inside organizations, you gain leverage by having control over key items such as resources, decisions, budgets, information, and the like.”
― G. Richard Shell, Bargaining for Advantage: Negotiation Strategies for Reasonable People

“First, all deals that close are win-win deals. The two sides would not agree to a proposal unless they thought agreement was better for them than no deal.”
― G. Richard Shell, Bargaining for Advantage: Negotiation Strategies for Reasonable People

“Simcha, Rabbi Tatz said, is “the experience of the soul that comes when you are doing what you should be doing.”
― G. Richard Shell, Springboard: Launching Your Personal Search for Success

“Develop a specific alternative as a fallback if the negotiation fails. If you can’t walk away, you can’t say no. Too often, cooperative people leave themselves without choices at the bargaining table. They have no alternatives planned if negotiations fail. Coaching note: your preparation must always include plan B. Life will go on if there is no deal, so find out what your alternatives are, work on improving them, and bring a clear vision of them with you to the negotiation. Remember the lesson of Janie Rail in chapter 6. Build your own railroad if you have to. There is always an alternative.”
― G. Richard Shell, Bargaining for Advantage: Negotiation Strategies for Reasonable People

“Gently push back, at least for one round. Cooperative people are programmed to say yes to the first reasonable proposal someone makes. To improve, you need to practice pushing back a little. A simple question that works well is: “Can you do better than that?” If the other side says no and you feel you can sustain the process for another round, ask for help understanding why that is the best they can do. If their answer makes no sense, share your confusion. You will get farther with a little polite persistence than you will by quick surrender.”
― G. Richard Shell, Bargaining for Advantage: Negotiation Strategies for Reasonable People

“A negotiation is an interactive communication process that may take place whenever we want something from someone else or another person wants something from us.”
― G. Richard Shell, Bargaining for Advantage: Negotiation Strategies for Reasonable People

“Negotiation scholars have observed this phenomenon so often we have a name for it: “escalation of commitment.” People lose sight of their real goals in competitive situations and pay far too much money, spend too much time, or sacrifice too many other interests for the privilege of saying they have won.”
― G. Richard Shell, Bargaining for Advantage: Negotiation Strategies for Reasonable People

“What Is the Basis for My Credibility with This Person?”
― G. Richard Shell, The Art of Woo: Using Strategic Persuasion to Sell Your Ideas

“What Is My Goal for This Encounter?”
― G. Richard Shell, The Art of Woo: Using Strategic Persuasion to Sell Your Ideas

“What Persuasion Channel Will This Person Be Tuned To?”
― G. Richard Shell, The Art of Woo: Using Strategic Persuasion to Sell Your Ideas

“Step 1—Define the problem. Step 2—Analyze the causes of the problem. Step 3—Present your answer. Step 4—Argue the net benefits of your answer compared with alternatives.”
― G. Richard Shell, The Art of Woo: Using Strategic Persuasion to Sell Your Ideas

“people who expect more generally get more.”
― G. Richard Shell, Bargaining for Advantage: Negotiation Strategies for Reasonable People

“Woo is about people, not saving time.”
― G. Richard Shell, The Art of Woo: Using Strategic Persuasion to Sell Your Ideas

“My own experience and a lot of research tell me that you already have what it takes to be a highly competent negotiator.”
― G. Richard Shell, Bargaining for Advantage: Negotiation Strategies for Reasonable People

“The more the other party needs what you can offer, the more they will feel the loss if you walk away. And the more likely they are to say yes to your terms.”
― G. Richard Shell, Bargaining for Advantage: Negotiation Strategies for Reasonable People

“Will My Idea Conflict with Any of This Person’s Beliefs?”
― G. Richard Shell, The Art of Woo: Using Strategic Persuasion to Sell Your Ideas

“People react more forcefully to the possibility of loss than to the prospect of an equivalent gain. Unions will bargain hard for wage increases,”
― G. Richard Shell, The Art of Woo: Using Strategic Persuasion to Sell Your Ideas

“Imagine that you are sitting in this person’s”
― G. Richard Shell, The Art of Woo: Using Strategic Persuasion to Sell Your Ideas

“purposes: one, the ostensible purpose for which the organization exists; the other, to increase the power of its officials.” Kettering and Sloan did not properly”
― G. Richard Shell, The Art of Woo: Using Strategic Persuasion to Sell Your Ideas

“Take a concrete action that Requires effort, Is freely chosen, and Is observed by or known to people other than you.”
― G. Richard Shell, The Art of Woo: Using Strategic Persuasion to Sell Your Ideas

“What Persuasion Style Is Appropriate?”
― G. Richard Shell, The Art of Woo: Using Strategic Persuasion to Sell Your Ideas

“Those who are too smart to engage in politics are condemned to being governed by those who are dumber. —Plato”
― G. Richard Shell, The Art of Woo: Using Strategic Persuasion to Sell Your Ideas

“a momentary, positive emotion, an overall evaluation of the past or hope for the future, and a deep sense of joy, connection, and meaning.”
― G. Richard Shell, Springboard: Launching Your Personal Search for Success

“Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.”
― G. Richard Shell, The Art of Woo: Using Strategic Persuasion to Sell Your Ideas

“What Commitments Can I Ask For?”
― G. Richard Shell, The Art of Woo: Using Strategic Persuasion to Sell Your Ideas

“Can I Leave the Relationship Better Than I Found It?”
― G. Richard Shell, The Art of Woo: Using Strategic Persuasion to Sell Your Ideas

“Psychologists tell us that to engage the commitment process, you need the other party to:”
― G. Richard Shell, The Art of Woo: Using Strategic Persuasion to Sell Your Ideas

“What Is the Five-Minute Summary of My Idea?”
― G. Richard Shell, The Art of Woo: Using Strategic Persuasion to Sell Your Ideas