Getting to Yes book
The Harvard Negotiation Project's foundational framework: principled negotiation, BATNA, separating people from problem.
The Harvard Negotiation Project's foundational framework: principled negotiation, BATNA, separating people from problem.
why it matters
The grandparent of every modern negotiation book. Older and drier than Never Split the Difference, but the framework (separate people from problem, focus on interests not positions, generate options before deciding, insist on objective criteria) is the structural skeleton that other books fill in.
key ideas
- Separate the people from the problem
- Focus on interests, not positions — positions are stated wants; interests are why they want them
- Generate options for mutual gain before settling on one
- Insist on objective criteria for the agreement
- BATNA (best alternative to a negotiated agreement) is your real source of power; develop it before negotiating
who should read it
Pair with Never Split the Difference. Fisher/Ury for the framework, Voss for the tactics.