If you are in the fortunate position of having the opportunity and motivation to put what the book teaches to use as you read it, you will undoubtly find that it dramatically increases your ability to 'let others have your way' and reduces the stress of negotiating (or selling, or whatever else you want to call trying to get, or give, something to or from someone else). The steps and principles are short and simple enough for even the shortest and least focused memory to remember and employ, and despite [sic] being based on research at the Harvard Negotiation Project, you will find them consistent with your past experience and immeasurably valuable for your future.
Get this now and start getting past no.
This small, thin, lightweight, Bantam paperback of 181 pages is both concise and well written. It is evident that author William Ury has devoted a considerable amount of thought and research to the subject. His extensive knowledge has allowed him to write THE definitive "How-To" book on negotiation.
Throughout the book, Ury instructs his reader on how to approach specific parts of a negotiation, and how to react (or not react) if the other side does not act according to plan. The book advocates a considerable amount of psychological coaching in the event that one's emotions should threaten to divert a negotiator from his/her acknowledged goals. I found Ury's "Going to the Balcony" to be an extremely fresh approach to moderating one's anger in the face of unrelenting resistance.
In addition to countless examples of negotiation in the business world, Ury also details how the art of negotiation permeates our daily lives. Whether it be negotiating with a teenager to get off the phone, or negotiating with a sales clerk to take back a defective item, we all seem to do our fair share of negotiating. For this reason, I highly recommend this book to anyone who aspires to become a more effective negotiator (in the most liberal sense of the word.)
