The Art of Negotiation

How to Improvise Agreement in a Chaotic World

By: Michael Wheeler

Narrated by: Jeff Cummings

A member of the world-renowned Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School introduces the powerful next-generation approach to negotiation.

For many years, two approaches to negotiation have prevailed: the "win-win" method exemplified in Getting to Yes by Roger Fisher, William Ury, and Bruce Patton; and the hard-bargaining style of Herb Cohen's You Can Negotiate Anything. Now award-winning Harvard Business School professor Michael Wheeler provides a dynamic alternative to one-size-fits-all strategies that don't match real world realities.

The Art of Negotiation shows how master negotiators thrive in the face of chaos and uncertainty. They don't trap themselves with rigid plans. Instead they understand negotiation as a process of exploration that demands ongoing learning, adapting, and influencing. Their agility enables them to reach agreement when others would be stalemated.

Michael Wheeler illuminates the improvisational nature of negotiation, drawing on his own research and his work with Program on Negotiation colleagues. He explains how the best practices of diplomats such as George J. Mitchell, dealmaker Bruce Wasserstein, and Hollywood producer Jerry Weintraub apply to everyday transactions like selling a house, buying a car, or landing a new contract. Wheeler also draws lessons on agility and creativity from fields like jazz, sports, theater, and even military science.

For more information, visit the author's website at www.michaelwheeler.com.

©2013 Michael Wheeler (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"Michael Wheeler has written a new business classic. He presents powerful negotiation strategies and techniques for managers in any industry." (Henry McGee, former president, HBO Home Entertainment)

Good story on negotiation

It has a lot of stories and less about principles. You read it and then you forgot most of the details. The biggest takeaway for me is to be flexible and expect the unexpected during negotiation. I think that’s the essence of negotiation, which you might be able to know just a few principles and the way you get good at it is only through practicing.

Just ok

The book told you what to do but was very surface in my opinion. Not deep level input on how to execute specifically a negotiation. Broad level book.

Great book by Harvard Professor

Useful skills that can be applied in all real life situations. Valuable for anyone looking to advance their career prospects.

Full of learning

loved this book, multiple frameworks, tips and practical applications. so many useful examples to enhance understanding

Let Me Save You 9 Hours Of Your Life

I gave this book a try because it was written by a Harvard Business School professor.
Here is his ivy league advice: "Approach negotiation with creativity and a readiness to improvise."
Got it? Now don't you feel like one of the big boys? Do you have any Grey Poupon?
The rest of the book is just rambling from story to story, making that same point over and over.
"Here's how (this person) was, or failed to be, creative and ready to improvise."

Ugh, I'm going to return this and go listen to Chris Voss' book again, just to cleanse my palette.