The Negotiating Game Book Summary

How to Get What You Want - Waller's Reading Room

Welcome back Reading Fam! The Negotiating Game, by Chester Karrass, is a well written strategy book on negotiation tactics and countermeasures. It’s the same author who wrote, “In business as in life, you don’t get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate”. We covered many of the core negotiation principles in that book summary, so I’ll keep it short and sweet on this one.?

My Top Takeaways:

#1 Negotiators with high aspiration levels win more in quantity and frequency.

Karass performed an interesting social experiment. In this experiment, he used power, skill, and aspiration level as independent variables. Participants were given varying levels of power to exercise and negotiation aspirations. He discovered:

Skilled negotiators with high aspiration levels were big winners regardless of whether they had power.?- Chester Karass

This is a powerful finding. It means you can overcome being in a less powerful position by preparation, negotiation skills, and setting high targets. He also concluded the following regarding concession behavior:

• Large initial demands improve the probability of success
• Losers make the single largest concession
• People who make small concessions fail less
• Losers tend to make the first compromise
• Skilled negotiators make lower concessions as the deadline approaches

Key Takeaway - be extremely prepared to negotiate and set your expectations high.

#2 You have more power than you think

If your opponent has more leverage in the negotiation, fret not. There are opportunities to get the upper hand. You likely have more power than you think.?

Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did, and it never will. -?Frederick Douglass

Karrass provides 8 principles regarding power dynamics:

• First - power is always relative, rarely does a buyer or seller enjoy complete power
• Second - power may be real or apparent, the perception of power is sometimes just clever marketing
• Third - power may be exerted without action
• Fourth - power is always limited, it depends upon the situation, government regulations, and ethical standards
• Fifth - power exists to the extent that is accepted. Some people are simply less willing to be dominated than others and would rather do without than be exploited.
• Sixth - the ends of power cannot be separated from the means
• Seventh - the exercise of power always entails cost and risk
• Eighth - power relationships change over time, the balance of power moves as the balance of benefits and contributions from the parties change

During negotiations, one must first have an accurate perception of the power possessed. What leverage do you have? Next, ask, can I enhance my base of power by:

• Permitting or forcing my opponent to take an action he or she is not presently taking?
• Not taking an action I am currently taking?
• Taking an action I am not currently taking?

By evaluating and answering these questions, you can increase your power base in any negotiation.

#3 You must organize to win your objectives

Resources, to produce results, must be allocated to opportunities rather than problems. - Peter Drucker

Companies and organizations must adopt a systematic approach to negotiations in order to increase the likelihood of success. Karass recommends the following:

• Improve negotiation planning - Ask questions about power, objectives, and aspiration levels. Have a clarity of outcomes desired. Improve information gathering and assumption testing.??
• Establish a broad-based training program - Negotiation training is a high-return business investment. Train your people on this important skill set.?
• Improve the negotiator selection process - Create a rigorous process for choosing your very best negotiators to negotiate on behalf of the company. The terms and conditions of a business deal are too important for an average or poor negotiator to lead.
• Establish high-level negotiation activity - Business leaders should constantly be evaluating essential corporate negotiations regardless of department. Create a culture where negotiation is practiced often.?

Now get out there and negotiate!?

Waller’s Reading Room Rating (W3R) for this book:

Purpose/Persuasiveness - Did the author convince me to adopt his/her point of view? - 4 out of 5 stars

Clarity/Conciseness - Does the author have well thought out and clearly articulated ideas without a bunch of fluff? - 4 out of 5 stars

Ideas/creativity - Does the author have a unique perspective and convey the message creatively? - 2.5 out of 5 stars

Total: 3.5 Stars

Purchase this book:?The Negotiating Game: How to Get What You Want

Thanks for reading this edition of Waller’s Reading Room! If you enjoyed it or have thoughts, you can reply directly to this email and let me know. Don’t forget, I’m always taking recommendations, let me know what I should read next.

Yours Truly,

Omar Waller