Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement without Giving In

by Roger Fisher

Understanding is not agreeing.

a satisfactory agreement is made possible because each side wants different things. This is genuinely startling if you think about it. People generally assume that differences between two parties create the problem. Yet differences can also lead to a solution.

old quip that a camel is a horse designed by a committee.

A good negotiator rarely makes an important decision on the spot. The psychological pressure to be nice and to give in is too great. A little time and distance help disentangle the people from the problem.