"As a venture capitalist, I negotiate every day. Michael Watkins's book is the first I have found that truly grapples with the complications of real-world negotiations. I am struck by how often its tools and techniques apply to my past and current experiences in negotiation. This book is a powerful tool for anybody who wants to take control and come out on top. I wish I had read it twenty years ago."
--John F. Eckert, founder and managing partner, McLean Watson Capital Inc., and president, Canadian Venture Capital Association "The best negotiators often seem to be guided by instinct, but Michael Watkins reveals powerful principles that can increase anyone's effectiveness in negotiation. He lays out a clear framework for conducting complex negotiations so you can ask the right questions and focus on the right issues. He then demonstrates how the framework applies to a variety of real-world dynamic situations. I highly recommend this book."
--Steven Cohen, partner and specialist in mergers and acquisitions, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
"Breakthrough Business Negotiation deserves a spot on every negotiator's bookshelf. Watkins has written a comprehensive guide that makes the daunting task of negotiation approachable for everyone. It is a rare gem that brings academic rigor to the real world. Even the most experienced negotiator will find much that is fresh and enjoyable here."
--Rob Aiello, managing director, Updata Capital
From the Publisher
"As a venture capitalist, I negotiate every day. Michael Watkins's book is the first I have found that truly grapples with the complications of real-world negotiations. I am struck by how often its tools and techniques apply to my past and current experiences in negotiation. This book is a powerful tool for anybody who wants to take control and come out on top. I wish I had read it twenty years ago."
--John F. Eckert, founder and managing partner, McLean Watson Capital Inc., and president, Canadian Venture Capital Association
"The best negotiators often seem to be guided by instinct, but Michael Watkins reveals powerful principles that can increase anyone's effectiveness in negotiation. He lays out a clear framework for conducting complex negotiations so you can ask the right questions and focus on the right issues. He then demonstrates how the framework applies to a variety of real-world dynamic situations. I highly recommend this book."
--Steven Cohen, partner and specialist in mergers and acquisitions, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
"Breakthrough Business Negotiation deserves a spot on every negotiator's bookshelf. Watkins has written a comprehensive guide that makes the daunting task of negotiation approachable for everyone. It is a rare gem that brings academic rigor to the real world. Even the most experienced negotiator will find much that is fresh and enjoyable here."
--Rob Aiello, managing director, Updata Capital
From the Inside Flap
From the CEO to the front-line supervisor, every businessperson needs negotiation skills in order to succeed. Breakthrough Business Negotiation is a definitive guide to negotiating in any business situation. This smart and practical book by Michael Watkins, a leading expert in negotiation at Harvard Business School, presents principles that apply to any negotiation situation and tools to achieve breakthrough results. Step by step, Breakthrough Business Negotiation demonstrates how to diagnose a situation, build coalitions, manage internal decision making, persuade others, organize a deal cycle, and create strategic alliances. Watkins also explains how to prevent disputes from poisoning deals.
A simple negotiation is a rarity. The hallmarks of most business negotiations are multiple parties and issues, shifting interests, and relentless time pressure. Watkins's unique systems-analysis technique is a powerful tool for managing fluid and intricate situations. His emphasis on identifying the fundamentals and analyzing their interactions will equip you to become an architect of negotiation structure and process and to achieve your long-term goals.
A practical and much-needed resource, Breakthrough Business Negotiation offers helpful case histories, concrete rules and guidelines, applications, and a wealth of handy negotiation tools.
From the Back Cover
"As a venture capitalist, I negotiate every day. Michael Watkins's book is the first I have found that truly grapples with the complications of real-world negotiations. I am struck by how often its tools and techniques apply to my past and current experiences in negotiation. This book is a powerful tool for anybody who wants to take control and come out on top. I wish I had read it twenty years ago."
--John F. Eckert, founder and managing partner, McLean Watson Capital Inc., and president, Canadian Venture Capital Association "The best negotiators often seem to be guided by instinct, but Michael Watkins reveals powerful principles that can increase anyone's effectiveness in negotiation. He lays out a clear framework for conducting complex negotiations so you can ask the right questions and focus on the right issues. He then demonstrates how the framework applies to a variety of real-world dynamic situations. I highly recommend this book."
--Steven Cohen, partner and specialist in mergers and acquisitions, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
"Breakthrough Business Negotiation deserves a spot on every negotiator's bookshelf. Watkins has written a comprehensive guide that makes the daunting task of negotiation approachable for everyone. It is a rare gem that brings academic rigor to the real world. Even the most experienced negotiator will find much that is fresh and enjoyable here."
--Rob Aiello, managing director, Updata Capital
About the Author
Michael Watkins is associate professor of business administration at Harvard Business School, where he teaches negotiation and corporate diplomacy. He also has taught at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. He is the coauthor of Breakthrough International Negotiation (Jossey-Bass, 2001), Right from the Start (1999), and Winning the Influence Game (John Wiley & Sons, 2001). He is also an associate and frequent participant in the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School.
