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Stuck in a "win-win versus win-lose" debate, most negotiation books focus on face-to-face tactics. Yet table tactics are only the "first dimension" of Lax and Sebenius's path breakingtion™ approach, developed from their decades of doing deals and analyzing great dealmakers. Their "second dimension"-deal design-systematically unlocks economic and non-economic value by creatively structuring agreements.

But what sets the 3-D approach apart is its "third dimension": setup. Before showing up at a bargaining session, 3-D Negotiators ensure that the right parties have been approached, in the right sequence, to address the right interests, under the right expectations, and facing the right consequences of walking away if there is no deal. This new arsenal of moves away from the table often exerts the greatest impact on the negotiated outcome.

Packed with practical steps and cases, 3-D Negotiation demonstrates how superior setup moves plus insightful deal designs can enable you to reach remarkable agreements at the table, unattainable by standard tactics.

Based on Professor G. Richard Shell's executive training program, Bargaining for Advantage is a unique combination of lively storytelling, useful lessons gleaned from the tactics used by some of the world's leading business strategists, and the latest insights from negotiation research. Whether you are closing a business deal, negotiating a raise, or buying a car, Richard Shell teaches you to draw on your unique communication style to became a more confident negotiator.

Masters of diplomacy, Fisher and Shapiro, of the Harvard Negotiation Project, build on Fisher's bestseller (he co-authored Getting to YES) with this instructive, clearly written book that addresses the emotions and relationships inevitably involved in negotiation. Identifying five core concerns that stimulate emotion-appreciation, affiliation, autonomy, status and role-the authors explain how to control and leverage your own and others' emotions for better end-results. They enliven the book with detailed examples of commonly faced situations-from dealing with colleagues to understanding one's spouse-and with anecdotes of high-level negotiations regarding critical matters of state (e.g., Fisher's conversation with the head of Iran's Islamic Republican Party when U.S. embassy in Teheran was seized in 1979). Fisher and Shapiro play out each situation, often toward an unsatisfactory conclusion, and then carefully analyze the negotiation and rewind it according to their behavioral framework for more favorable resolutions. Take the initiative and understand the five core concerns, they suggest, offering practical advice on understanding another's point of view, building connections, joint brainstorming, tempering strong emotions and defining an empowering temporary role. Baffled spouses, struggling middle managers and heads of state might take a cue from the convincing strategy laid out by these savvy experts.
Copyright © Reed Business Information

Americans as a whole are really bad at negotiating. We find haggling to be beneath us and we're uncomfortable with it, yet we feel cheated when we don't get the best deal possible. World-class negotiator, author, and attorney Thomas takes his cues from cultures where negotiating is celebrated as an art. While India or the Middle East may come to mind, when it comes to masters of negotiation, Japan tops the list. Thomas explains that the American way of logic and reasoning is persuasion, not negotiation, and you can persuade until you're blue in the face and still get nowhere. The art of negotiation is allowing your counterpart (don't think of them as your "opponent") to save face, which means always giving some concessions to get what you really want. "Beating" your colleague is not a way to create long-term relationships, but a "win-win" solution is. Thomas presents 21 powerful rules of negotiating, plus gives "Quickies," specific tips on how to negotiate with your boss, spouse, child, car dealer, contractor, and more. Inspiring. - David Siegfried
Copyright © American Library Association

From two leaders in executive education at Harvard Business School, here are the mental habits and proven strategies you need to achieve outstanding results in any negotiation.

Whether you’ve “seen it all” or are just starting out, Negotiation Genius will dramatically improve your negotiating skills and confidence. Drawing on decades of behavioral research plus the experience of thousands of business clients, the authors take the mystery out of preparing for and executing negotiations—whether they involve multimillion-dollar deals or improving your next salary offer.

This book gets “down and dirty.” It gives you detailed strategies—including talking points—that work in the real world even when the other side is hostile, unethical, or more powerful. When you finish it, you will already have an action plan for your next negotiation. You will know what to do and why. You will also begin building your own reputation as a negotiation genius.

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.

Start with No, by negotiation coach Jim Camp, is a tenaciously contrarian guide to the art and science of give-and-take that proposes a viable alternative for today's prevailing "win-win" approach. Beginning with an inverse premise--that having the right to say "no" and veto any agreement is actually the key to favorably concluding the various deals and transactions we face every day--Camp's procedure counters the common emotion-based urge to compromise ("a defeatist mind-set from the first handshake") with a series of less intuitive decision-oriented actions. "My system teaches you how to control what you can control in a negotiation," Camp writes. "When you do so, you can and will succeed (understanding that success sometimes means walking away with a polite good-bye)." Emphasizing the importance of this underlying attitude, his method combines related steps like defining a mission, understanding the adversary, assessing fiscal and emotional investments, preparing an agenda, and tracking behavior. Each is fully explained, as are associated skills such as how to structure a question to elicit a truly helpful response (e.g., "What else do you need?" vs. "Is there anything else you need?"). Despite its unorthodox manner, if diligently applied, the route that Camp details here may indeed produce winning results. --Howard Rothman