Books on Negotiating

Negotiation has always been a hot topic in the business world. Take a look at the number of books on negotiating at a local books store, or at Amazon.com. One good reason for the plethora of information is that people have been doing it since before recorded history. In the telecom world everyone from the cable pullers to the CIO needs these skills.

How does a person become a skilled negotiator? The best way to learn is to do it. However, a little training is always a good thing.

Check the workshop agenda for many trade shows. There are often one or two workshops on negotiating. At the INNUA Nearmug www.nearmug.org show in March one of the workshops offered is “Negotiating with Network Service Providers.” I have no doubt the room will be full.

I do a workshop on this topic and many of you may have seen it. In researching the topic I used many resources, including a number of books. Here are a few of my favorites:

Getting to Yes, Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In, by Roger Fisher and William Ury

If you are only going to read one book, read this one. It covers everything you need to know about what to do and not do. Included is a clearly laid out method for getting to the root of the issues and keeping your personal feelings in check. I have pencil marking on 5 out of 10 pages. Excellent resource.

Women Don't Ask, Negotiation and the Gender Divide by Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever

Despite the title, this is not just for women. This book is full of amazing insights that everyone will appreciate. It highlights a lot of issues that seem to be specific to women, but that is only because women tend to negotiate differently than men (if they do it at all). A must read for women and any man who knows a woman.

Smart Negotiating, How to Make Good Deals in the Real World, by James C. Freund

This is another great basic book. No matter what method you chose to use, this book covers the role of issues like leverage, credibility, information and judgment. These are all things you need to think about before you go into a negotiating session.