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Good for You, Great for Me: Finding the Trading Zone and Winning at Win-Win Negotiation
You've read the classic on win-win negotiating, Getting to Yes but so have they , the folks you are now negotiating with. How can you get a leg up and win?
"Win-win" negotiation is an appealing idea on an intellectual level: Find the best way to convince the other side to accept a mutually beneficial outcome, and then everyone gets their fair share. The reality, though, is that people want more than their fair share; they want to win. Tell your boss that you've concocted a deal that gets your company a piece of the pie, and the reaction is likely to be: "Maybe we need to find someone harder-nosed than you who knows how to win. We want the whole pie, not just a slice." However, to return to an earlier era before "win-win" negotiation was in fashion and seek simply to dominate or bully opponents into submission would be a step in the wrong direction -- and a public relations disaster.
By showing how to win at win-win negotiating, Lawrence Susskind provides the operational advice you need to satisfy the interests of your back table -- the people to whom you report. He also shows you how to deal with irrational people, whose vocabulary seems limited to "no," or with the proverbial 900-pound gorilla. He explains how to find trades that create much more value than either you or your opponent thought possible. His brilliant concept of "the trading zone" -- the space where you can create deals that are "good for them but great for you," while still maintaining trust and keeping relationships intact -- is a fresh way to re-think your approach to negotiating. The outcome is often the best of both possible worlds: You claim a disproportionate share of the value you've created while your opponents still look good to the people to whom they report.
Whether the venue is business, a family dispute, international relations, or a tradeoff that has to be made between the environment and jobs, Susskind provides a breakthrough in how to both think about, and engage in, productive negotiations.
"Win-win" negotiation is an appealing idea on an intellectual level: Find the best way to convince the other side to accept a mutually beneficial outcome, and then everyone gets their fair share. The reality, though, is that people want more than their fair share; they want to win. Tell your boss that you've concocted a deal that gets your company a piece of the pie, and the reaction is likely to be: "Maybe we need to find someone harder-nosed than you who knows how to win. We want the whole pie, not just a slice." However, to return to an earlier era before "win-win" negotiation was in fashion and seek simply to dominate or bully opponents into submission would be a step in the wrong direction -- and a public relations disaster.
By showing how to win at win-win negotiating, Lawrence Susskind provides the operational advice you need to satisfy the interests of your back table -- the people to whom you report. He also shows you how to deal with irrational people, whose vocabulary seems limited to "no," or with the proverbial 900-pound gorilla. He explains how to find trades that create much more value than either you or your opponent thought possible. His brilliant concept of "the trading zone" -- the space where you can create deals that are "good for them but great for you," while still maintaining trust and keeping relationships intact -- is a fresh way to re-think your approach to negotiating. The outcome is often the best of both possible worlds: You claim a disproportionate share of the value you've created while your opponents still look good to the people to whom they report.
Whether the venue is business, a family dispute, international relations, or a tradeoff that has to be made between the environment and jobs, Susskind provides a breakthrough in how to both think about, and engage in, productive negotiations.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published May 28, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 2, 2021
Helpful information. I found myself getting easily distracted however but that's probably more my fault than the author's. I met Larry at MIT and he's just as personable in his writing as he is in person. Easily digestible advice. Those trained with Lean Six Sigma will find a lot of this book resonates well with the training we receive about meeting facilitation.
October 30, 2023
A great extension to many of the theories and practices explored in "Getting to Yes."
The only topic missing was an evaluation of the ethics of where to split the lie during a win-win negotiation.
The only topic missing was an evaluation of the ethics of where to split the lie during a win-win negotiation.
June 21, 2025
Hmm... Big companies hire consultants and coaches for their team members, is it?
May 19, 2016
A great book about negotiations. The most important thing is to enlarge the pie before dividing the pie. Preparation is extremely important, determining the walk away point, learning about the other party, getting in good terms with the 'back' people on both sides, writing the victory speech of the other party, and sometimes using mediators and facilitators.
I find this book great, but I need to read 'Getting to Yes' to compare the two.
I find this book great, but I need to read 'Getting to Yes' to compare the two.
July 24, 2014
If you liked Getting To Yes you will like this one too. If you haven't read it yet you should start from there first.
December 12, 2014
Not bad, but I think Getting to Yes is basically a better version. I used the audiobook so perhaps this reads better in hard copy.
February 27, 2015
Good content and summarizes negotiating techniques but quite a dry read
September 6, 2016
Useful tips to win at win-win negotiation!
March 30, 2017
Excellent book that takes you past the 'win-win' mentality. Of course, that's a laudable goal and failing to seek a benefit for both parties is ultimately self-defeating. But, the reality is that in negotiations you are charged by your side (whether that's a spouse or an organization) to get the best deal that you can for yourself. This book identifies that core truth and then provides specific strategies to help you such as using contingent offers and helping the other side write their 'victory speech' to their back table.
The book is well written and laid out, and avoids the frequent pitfall of business books by being the right length to convey the ideas, and no more.
The book is well written and laid out, and avoids the frequent pitfall of business books by being the right length to convey the ideas, and no more.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews