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''Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In'' is a best-selling 1981 non-fiction book by Roger Fisher and
William Ury William Ury is an American author, academic, anthropologist, and negotiation expert. He co-founded the Harvard Program on Negotiation. Additionally, he helped found the International Negotiation Network with former President Jimmy Carter. Ury is ...
. Subsequent editions in 1991 and 2011 added Bruce Patton as co-author. All of the authors were members of the
Harvard Negotiation Project The Harvard Negotiation Project is a project created at Harvard University which deals with issues of negotiations and conflict resolution. The stated aims and goal of the project, according to the Harvard Law School site is as follows: The d ...
. The book suggests a method of principled negotiation consisting of "separate the people from the problem"; "focus on interests, not positions"; "invent options for mutual gain"; and "insist on using objective criteria". Although influential in the field of
negotiation Negotiation is a dialogue between two or more people or parties to reach the desired outcome regarding one or more issues of conflict. It is an interaction between entities who aspire to agree on matters of mutual interest. The agreement c ...
, the book has received criticisms.


Background

Fisher and Ury focused on the psychology of negotiation in their method, "principled negotiation", which attempts to find acceptable solutions by determining which needs are fixed and which are flexible for negotiators. The first edition of the book was published in 1981. By 1987, the book had been adopted in several U.S. school districts to help students understand "non-adversarial bargaining". In 1991, the book was issued in a second edition with Bruce Patton, an editor of the first edition, listed as a co-author. The main difference between the second and first editions was the addition of a chapter after the main text entitled "Ten Questions People Ask About ''Getting to Yes''". The book became a perennial best-seller. By July 1998, it had been appearing for more than three years on the ''BusinessWeek'' "Best-Seller" book list. As of December 2007, it was still making appearances on the list as one of the "Longest Running Best Sellers" in paperback business books. The third edition was published in 2011. Among other changes to the second edition, the third edition added newer examples of negotiations, such as a conflict in Iraq after
Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolution ...
had fallen from power; paragraphs on "core concerns" and "the role of identity"; a section "How should we communicate?"; and a section "There is power in effective communication". As of 2022, Ury asserted on his website that 15 million copies of the book had been sold, and that it has been translated into more than 35 languages.


Method of principled negotiation

The book begins with a chapter "Don't Bargain Over Positions" that explains the undesirable characteristics of positional bargaining, in which the negotiating parties argue over a sequence of positions. Such an argument "produces unwise outcomes", "is inefficient", and "endangers an ongoing relationship". The next four chapters describe the method of principled negotiation which was developed at the Harvard Negotiation Project (part of the
Program on Negotiation The Program on Negotiation (PON) is a university consortium dedicated to developing the theory and practice of negotiation and dispute resolution. As a community of scholars and practitioners, PON serves a unique role in the world negotiation comm ...
consortium) by Fisher, Ury, and Patton. The purpose of principled negotiation is to "decide issues on their merits rather than through a haggling process". The method is based on four principles:


"Separate the people from the problem"

The first principle of ''Getting to Yes''—"Separate the people from the problem"—applies to the interaction between the two parties to a negotiation. The authors point out that negotiators are people first—people who have different values, cultural backgrounds, and emotions. The relationship between parties tends to become entangled with the problem that the parties are discussing; therefore, issues of perception, emotion, and communication need to be addressed during a negotiation. Concerning perception, the authors note that it is important for a negotiator to understand how the other party views an issue. Ways to accomplish this include "Put yourself in their shoes", "Discuss each other's perceptions", and "Face-saving: Make your proposals consistent with their values". Concerning emotion, the authors encourage negotiators to explore the causes of both their own and the other party's emotions. Techniques may be needed to defuse anger, such as allowing the other party to voice grievances and to provide an apology as a symbolic gesture. Concerning communication, the authors point out three common problems and give suggestions to prevent or solve them: # Not speaking with the other party in a direct and clear manner; # Not actively listening to the other party, but instead only listening to rebut the other party's statements; and # Misunderstanding or misinterpreting what the other party has said.


"Focus on interests, not positions"

The second principle—"Focus on interests, not positions"—distinguishes the positions that the parties hold from the interests that led them to those positions. For example, in 1978 Israel and Egypt both held positions about occupying the
Sinai Peninsula The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai (now usually ) (, , cop, Ⲥⲓⲛⲁ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is a l ...
, but the reasons for the positions were different: Israel was interested in security and Egypt was interested in
sovereignty Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the perso ...
. Addressing the underlying interests of the two nations led to the
Egypt–Israel peace treaty The Egypt–Israel peace treaty ( ar, معاهدة السلام المصرية الإسرائيلية, Mu`āhadat as-Salām al-Misrīyah al-'Isrā'īlīyah; he, הסכם השלום בין ישראל למצרים, ''Heskem HaShalom Bein Yisrael ...
of 1979. The authors recommend that negotiators identify interests, such as the "basic human needs" of "economic well-being" and "control over one's life", behind the parties' positions. Both parties should then discuss their interests and keep an open mind to the other side of the argument, in order to arrive at options that satisfy their respective interests.


"Invent options for mutual gain"

The third principle—"Invent options for mutual gain"—seeks to benefit both parties that are negotiating. To generate options, the authors suggest that the parties brainstorm separately and possibly together. The book describes specific techniques to promote effective brainstorming; for example, a "Circle Chart" diagrams the repeated steps of Problem, Analysis, Approaches, and Action Ideas that should occur. Options can either meet shared interests or meet different interests that are complementary (as in the nursery rhyme "
Jack Sprat "Jack Sprat" (or "Jack Spratt") is an English language nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 19479. Rhyme The most common modern version of the rhyme is: Origins The name "Jack Sprat" was used of people of small stature in t ...
"). After a suitable option is developed, one side can draft a written agreement to make the decision easy for the other side.


"Insist on using objective criteria"

The fourth principle—"Insist on using objective criteria"—encourages parties to "negotiate on some basis ''independent'' of the will of either side". This approach can help produce "wise agreements amicably and efficiently", as in the case of negotiations about the Law of the Sea. Objective criteria can be based on factors such as
market value Market value or OMV (Open Market Valuation) is the price at which an asset would trade in a competitive auction setting. Market value is often used interchangeably with ''open market value'', ''fair value'' or ''fair market value'', although the ...
and
precedent A precedent is a principle or rule established in a previous legal case that is either binding on or persuasive for a court or other tribunal when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts. Common-law legal systems place great valu ...
. The three steps for using objective criteria in negotiations are to jointly search for such criteria, to keep an open mind about which criteria should be chosen to be applied, and to never give in to pressure or threats. The chapter on this principle concludes with an example of objective criteria being used successfully in a negotiation between a person whose car is a
total loss In insurance claims, a total loss or write-off is a situation where the lost value, repair cost or salvage cost of a damaged property exceeds its insured value, and simply replacing the old property with a new equivalent is more cost-effecti ...
and an insurance
claims adjuster A claims adjuster, desk adjuster, field adjuster, or general adjuster (claim adjuster, claims handler, claim handler or loss adjuster in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, South Africa, the Caribbean and New Zealand) investigates insurance cla ...
.


Answers to questions

All three editions of the book provide answers to three questions about the method of principled negotiation. The second and third editions answer ten other questions about negotiation.


"What if they are more powerful?"

If the other side "has a stronger bargaining position", the authors recommend "Develop Your BATNA—
Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement In negotiation theory, the best alternative to a negotiated agreement or BATNA (no deal option) refers to the most advantageous alternative course of action a party can take if negotiations fail and an agreement cannot be reached. The BATNA could ...
". The BATNA is "the results you can obtain without negotiating". The authors give three suggestions to develop a BATNA that both protects the negotiator from accepting an agreement that should be rejected and improves any agreement that is accepted: # Creating a list of actions one might take if no agreement is reached # Transforming some of the more promising ideas into options # Selecting the option that appears best


"What if they won't play?"

If the other side demands to use positional bargaining, a negotiator may attempt "negotiation jujitsu". One method is to ask a third party to mediate. In this "one-text procedure", the third party explores the parties' interests and iteratively develops a solution with them. The author cite the negotiations that led to the 1978
Camp David Accords The Camp David Accords were a pair of political agreements signed by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin on 17 September 1978, following twelve days of secret negotiations at Camp David, the country retrea ...
as an example of the one-text procedure, with the United States drafting agreements between Egypt and Israel.


"What if they use dirty tricks?"

The authors point to the outcome of the
Munich Agreement The Munich Agreement ( cs, Mnichovská dohoda; sk, Mníchovská dohoda; german: Münchner Abkommen) was an agreement concluded at Munich on 30 September 1938, by Nazi Germany, Germany, the United Kingdom, French Third Republic, France, and Fa ...
in 1938 as an example of a negotiator's failure to address "dirty tricks", in that case
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
's negotiating tactics with
Neville Chamberlain Arthur Neville Chamberlain (; 18 March 18699 November 1940) was a British politician of the Conservative Party who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. He is best known for his foreign policy of appeasemen ...
. Instead, the parties should negotiate about the rules of negotiation using the four principles stated earlier in the book. This can overcome tactics such as misrepresentation and psychological pressure.


Ten other questions

The second and third editions contain a chapter after the main text entitled "Ten Questions People Ask About ''Getting to Yes''". The questions and answers concern "fairness and 'principled' negotiation", "dealing with people", "tactics", and "power".


Reception

The book has been called "arguably one of, if not the most famous, works on the topic of negotiation" as well as a "wellspring for cutting-edge academic research". The principles in the book have been applied to numerous negotiations. Nevertheless, it has received criticisms.


Applications of principled negotiation

Organizational and individual negotiators have applied the principles of ''Getting to Yes''. In 2001, the health insurance company Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida (later
Florida Blue GuideWell, formally GuideWell Mutual Holding Corporation (holding company for Florida Blue), is a mutual insurance holding company primarily focused on health insurance in Florida. It was created in 2013 by a reorganization initiated by Florida ...
) formed a department to implement principled negotiation. The purpose was to address the problems of increasing competition, rising healthcare prices, and increased customer expectations. For instance, the company used principled negotiation to form a
joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...
with its competitor
Humana Humana Inc. is a for-profit American health insurance company based in Louisville, Kentucky. In 2021, the company ranked 41 on the Fortune 500 list, which made it the highest ranked (by revenues) company based in Kentucky. It has been the thir ...
. Applying principled negotiation techniques occurred more naturally at the executive level than at lower levels of management. In
social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...
, principled negotiation can be used to advocate for a client's interests. For example, a social worker may need to negotiate with a government
social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or administe ...
agency to obtain services for a client. In the field of
psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
, principled negotiation has formed the basis for educational exercises about
critical thinking Critical thinking is the analysis of available facts, evidence, observations, and arguments to form a judgement. The subject is complex; several different definitions exist, which generally include the rational, skeptical, and unbiased analysis ...
. A 2008 review of literature concluded that the book's ideas could be applied to
cross-cultural Cross-cultural may refer to *cross-cultural studies, a comparative tendency in various fields of cultural analysis *cross-cultural communication, a field of study that looks at how people from differing cultural backgrounds communicate *any of vari ...
negotiations "if interests are defined to include cultural interests". For example, when negotiating with people in China, a negotiator should be aware of the
Thirty-Six Stratagems The ''Thirty-Six Stratagems'' is a Chinese essay used to illustrate a series of stratagems used in politics, war, and civil interaction. Its focus on the use of cunning and deception both on the battlefield and in court have drawn comparisons ...
which may be employed.


Criticism

Gerald M. Steinberg in a 1982 review criticized Fisher and Ury for "describ ngthe world as it should be, and not as it is". For instance, in practice it can be difficult to find mutually agreeable objective criteria in a negotiation. Furthermore, Fisher and Ury assume that negotiating parties are "unitary actors", but negotiations often involve "complex collective entities, such as states".
James J. White James Justesen White (born 1934) is an American legal scholar working as the Robert A. Sullivan Professor of Law at the University of Michigan Law School. He has published the most widely recognized treatise on commercial law, ''Uniform Commercial ...
, a professor of law at the
University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
, suggested in 1984 that ''Getting to Yes'' is not scholarly or analytical and relies on anecdotal evidence, and that "the authors seem to deny the existence of a significant part of the negotiation process, and to oversimplify or explain away many of the most troublesome problems inherent in the art and practice of negotiation". In particular, the book does not discuss in enough detail distributive bargaining, in which a gain for one party is a loss for the other. Fisher responded that the book is intended to give advice, and that "distributional problems" can be reconceptualized as "shared problems". Nevertheless, Fisher reported that when teaching a negotiation course he tore a copy of the book in half to emphasize that it was imperfect.
Carrie Menkel-Meadow Carrie Menkel-Meadow is an American lawyer and scholar of dispute resolution. In 2018, she was the recipient of the Outstanding Scholar Award by the American Bar Foundation. Early life and education Menkel-Meadow graduated with an A.B. in sociol ...
noted in 1984 that legal negotiators might adopt some of Fisher and Ury's ideas by using a problem solving approach instead of an adversarial approach. Nevertheless, she felt that ideas such as "separate the people from the problem" would not apply. In 2006, Menkel-Meadow praised ''Getting To Yes'' for inspiring a "rich research and teaching agenda", but also claimed that the factors leading to successful versus failed negotiations are still unclear. In a 1985 article, William McCarthy described eight areas in which he agreed with the book, but also listed reservations and disagreements. The reservations included the authors' emphasis on long-term relationships (when immediate actions are sometimes required); the assumption that trust is unnecessary in negotiation; and the suggestion to "avoid starting from extremes". The main disagreement was that the book did not consider the need of a negotiator to prevail when a negotiation involves a power struggle. Fisher replied that he agreed with some of McCarthy's criticisms, for example that "''Getting to YES'' probably overstates the case against positional bargaining". A 1996 paper argued that the book's distinction between "interests" and "positions" was problematic. There can be a difference between objective interests (that help an individual) and subjective interests (that the individual perceives to be helpful, but that may not be). A negotiating party's public position may be different from that the course of action that the party will actually pursue. If a party's interest is in maintaining internal unity, it may adopt a position that preserves that unity, thus causing an overlap between position and interest. A 1997
feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
analysis of the book's recommendations appeared in the ''
Otago Law Review ''Otago Law Review'' is a peer reviewed academic law review of the Faculty of Law of the University of Otago. It publishes articles and notes related to study and practice of law, with special focus on issues involving New Zealand New Zeal ...
''. It maintained that the book is written from a male perspective, and that some of its advice may not be appropriate for female negotiators. The author of a 2003 examination of the history of
alternative dispute resolution Alternative dispute resolution (ADR), or external dispute resolution (EDR), typically denotes a wide range of dispute resolution processes and techniques that parties can use to settle disputes with the help of a third party. They are used for ...
felt that ''Getting to Yes'' is a "classic text". Nevertheless, the book failed to realistically account for competition among negotiating parties and failed to consider complex personal dynamics during negotiations. A 2013 ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
'' article asserted that the techniques in the book do not work for three reasons: people do not trust other people, people are not rational, and people do not enjoy negotiating. A 2012 commentary noted that Australian practice guidelines for lawyers supported interest-based negotiation of the type described in ''Getting to Yes'', but that such a negotiation style is not always more ethical than positional negotiation. It is possible for both types of negotiation to be unethical. Instead, it is ethical for a lawyer to be able to adjust negotiation strategies to provide effective advocacy for a client. The need for flexibility in negotiation styles was echoed in a 2015 paper calling principled negotiations a "false promise".
Chris Voss Christopher Voss is an American businessman, author, and academic. Voss is a former FBI hostage negotiator , the CEO of The Black Swan Group Ltd, a company registered in East Grinstead, England, and co-author of the book ''Never Split the Differe ...
, a former FBI agent, mentioned ''Getting to Yes'' in his 2016 book ''
Never Split the Difference Christopher Voss is an American businessman, author, and academic. Voss is a former FBI hostage negotiator , the CEO of The Black Swan Group Ltd, a company registered in East Grinstead, England, and co-author of the book ''Never Split the Differe ...
''. He called Fisher and Ury's book "a groundbreaking treatise" and wrote "I still agree with many of the powerful bargaining strategies in the book". But he criticized their methods as inadequate for hostage negotiations such as the
Waco siege The Waco siege, also known as the Waco massacre, was the law enforcement siege of the compound that belonged to the religious sect Branch Davidians. It was carried out by the U.S. federal government, Texas state law enforcement, and the U.S. mi ...
: "I mean, have you ever tried to devise a mutually beneficial win-win solution with a guy who thinks he's the messiah?" Voss presented alternative techniques for such situations, including "the flip side of ''Getting to Yes''": getting to "no".


Related books by Fisher and Ury

Fisher and Ury wrote related books whose titles played on the title of ''Getting to Yes''. Fisher and Scott Brown wrote ''Getting Together: Building a Relationship That Gets to Yes'' (1988). Fisher and Danny Ertel wrote ''Getting Ready to Negotiate: The Getting to Yes Workbook'' (1995). Ury wrote ''Getting Past No: Negotiating with Difficult People'' (1991, revised in 1993 as ''Getting Past No: Negotiating Your Way from Confrontation to Cooperation'' or ''Getting Past No: Negotiating in Difficult Situations''); ''Getting to Peace: Transforming Conflict at Home, at Work, and in the World'' (1999, later released as ''The Third Side: Why We Fight and How We Can Stop''); ''The Power of a Positive No: How to Say No and Still Get to Yes'' (2007); and ''Getting to Yes with Yourself (And Other Worthy Opponents)'' (2015).


See also

*
Conflict resolution research Conflict resolution is any reduction in the severity of a conflict. It may involve conflict management, in which the parties continue the conflict but adopt less extreme tactics; settlement, in which they reach agreement on enough issues that the c ...
*
List of books about negotiation This is a list of books about negotiation and negotiation theory by year of publication. 2010s * Jung, Stefanie; Krebs, Peter (2019). ''The Essentials of Contract Negotiation''. Springer. . * * * * * * * * * * * * 2000s * * Matthia ...
*
Negotiation theory The foundations of negotiation theory are decision analysis, behavioral decision-making, game theory, and negotiation analysis. Another classification of theories distinguishes between Structural Analysis, Strategic Analysis, Process Analysis, ...
*
Rogerian argument Rogerian argument (or Rogerian rhetoric) is a rhetorical and conflict resolution strategy based on empathizing with others, seeking common ground and mutual understanding and learning, while avoiding the negative effects of extreme attitude pola ...


References

{{Reflist


External links


Summary of book on coauthor William Ury's websiteGetting to Yes: Negotiating in Challenging Times
– Video of William Ury at
University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin as a theological seminary. It remained focused on theology until the 17th centu ...
in June 2016 explaining concepts from the book 1981 non-fiction books Business books Collaborative non-fiction books Dispute resolution Negotiation Personal development