“Don’t take temporary set backs so seriously. Things are not over when we think they’re over. I used to believe that when you have a breakdown in a negotiation, then that’s it. What I learned after a while is that things are never over. It’s over if the parties involved both drop dead, then MAYBE, it’s over. Breakdowns are potential breakthroughs. Every exit is an entrance some place else.” – Herb Cohen Herb goes on…
Perception Is Reality
One of my negotiation idols is Herb Cohen. In a conversation I had with Herb (episode 33 of the Negotiations Ninja podcast), the biggest golden nugget for me was the re-affirmation that perception is everything in negotiation. He said: “Perception is reality. Power is based upon perception. If you think you got it, but don’t have it, you got it. If you think you don’t got it, but have it, you don’t have it. What the hell…
Don’t Shirk the Fundamentals
There is one thing that all experts (in every single interview I’ve done) preach repetitively and without loss of enthusiasm. And that one thing is to FOCUS ON THE FUNDAMENTALS. They consistently preach two things as the fundamental building blocks to success in negotiations: 1. Ask good questions 2. Actively listen Strangely, many of us cast off this advice as too basic. My belief is that they could have said anything else as fundamentals, and many would likely STILL cast…
Your Words Have Power
“Sticks and stones can break your bones but words can never harm you.” What a load of B.S. I caught myself telling my children this the other day and immediately regretted it. Because it’s completely untrue. Words have the power to build and the power to destroy. They also have the power to change how someone thinks of you and how you think of yourself. Ancient wisdom has understood this for millennia and yet our “better” modern…