Telling a negotiator "Don't get emotional!" is to miss the point. Roger Fisher, the author of Getting to YES, and Daniel Shapiro of the Harvard Negotiation Project understand how emotions affect negotiation and, more important, how they can be used as a tool. Their Beyond Reason pinpoints the five core emotional concerns that we all feel during any interaction: Do you feel unappreciated? Alone? Put down? Trivialized? Your autonomy impinged? Awareness of these concerns can generate positive results and emotions. The difference between "win-win negotiations" and losing control.
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. (Oct.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
Fisher, whose Getting to Yes has sold three million copies, is joined by the associate director of the Harvard Negotiation Project in this account of how to use one's emotions to get to yes. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
Written in the same remarkable vein as Getting to Yes, this book is a masterpiece.”
—Dr. Steven R. Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
“Powerful, practical advice. It will put your emotions to good use.”
—Archbishop Desmond Tutu
“A must read for anyone who negotiates—which is to say for all of us.”
—Elena Kagan, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States; former dean of Harvard Law School; and former associate counsel to the president
“A brilliant guide . . . Anyone who faces a difficult conversation, let alone a formal negotiation, can use this as a guidebook.”
—Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence
“Destined to take its place alongside Getting to Yes on innumerable bookshelves around the world.”
—Howard Gardner, Harvard University
“An indispensable real-world guide for anyone. Roger Fisher and Daniel Shapiro have brilliantly detailed a methodical system for moving emotions in a constructive direction. The NYPD Hostage Negotiation Team faces some of the most high-stakes decisions every day. We regularly apply the skills of Beyond Reason to create the straightforward dialogue that resolves the vast majority of our hostage negotiations.”
—Lt. Jack J. Cambria, commanding officer, NYPD Hostage Negotiation Team
“As the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, I have to apply law to the world's most serious crimes. A real challenge is how to deal with people's emotions and to maximize the constructive impact of our work. Beyond Reason provides essential tools to understand how to develop solutions to even the most serious problem.”
—Luis Moreno-Ocampo, chief prosecutor, International Criminal Court
“The perfect follow-up to Getting to YES . . . The book is both profound and easy to read, based on a wide range of research and firsthand experience in negotation. There is no interaction setting—public, professional, or personal, local, or international—where its recommendations will not be applicable.”
—Elise Boudling, Dartmouth College
“Beyond Reason is exactly what we need now: a lucid, systematic approach to dealing with emotions, infused with a practical wisdom that will help you understand, enrich, and improve all your negotiations—and all your relations with fellow human beings.”
—Leonard L. Riskin, director, Center for the Study of Dispute Resolution, University of Missouri-Columbia
“The resurgence of interest in emotions has broadened the impact of research on brain and behavior. Beyond Reason takes this to a new level, showing how emotions can positively and negatively affect the way managers and other negotiators approach their goals.”
—Joseph LeDoux, author of Anxious, The Emotional Brain, and Synaptic Self
“Masters of diplomacy, Fisher and Shapiro of the Harvard Negotiation Project, build on Fisher's bestseller (he coauthored Getting to YES) with this instructive, clearly written book that addresses the emotions and relationships inevitably involved in negotiation.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“This is one of those unusual works that is so carefully constructed and written that you may find yourself praising its common sense and nodding easily in concurrence. . . . It is a book to reflect upon and that belongs on every negotiator's reference shelf.”
—The Negotiator Magazine
“In this valuable, clearly written book, the authors say good negotiations—in business as well as in personal or family situations—hinge on respect for others, but also respect for your own feelings.”
—USA Today
Two experts break new ground with this articulate lesson on the emotional dimension of negotiations. One of many insights they offer is the importance of attending to the five core concerns, or needs, that everyone has when involved in negotiation. These core concerns--appreciation, affiliation, autonomy, status, and role--are the source of much emotion, whether we want them to be or not. These concerns and clear standards for reacting to each of them are spelled out early in the lesson and serve to integrate the material that follows. Though the abridgment is a bit uneven, the insights are cutting-edge and will be a welcome change from competitive and mechanical models of negotiating. T.W. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine
