Breakthrough Business Negotiation: A Toolbox for Managers [Hardcover]

Michael Watkins (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0787960128 | ISBN-13: 978-0787960124 | Publication Date: June 15, 2002 | Edition: 1

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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Named by Soundview Executive Book Summaries as one of the top-30 business books of 2003. -- Soundview Executive Book Summaries

Review

"As a venture capitalist, I negotiate every day. Michael Watkins's book is the first I have found that truly grapples with the complications of real-world negotiations. I am struck by how often its tools and techniques apply to my past and current experiences in negotiation. This book is a powerful tool for anybody who wants to take control and come out on top. I wish I had read it twenty years ago."
--John F. Eckert, founder and managing partner, McLean Watson Capital Inc., and president, Canadian Venture Capital Association

"The best negotiators often seem to be guided by instinct, but Michael Watkins reveals powerful principles that can increase anyone's effectiveness in negotiation. He lays out a clear framework for conducting complex negotiations so you can ask the right questions and focus on the right issues. He then demonstrates how the framework applies to a variety of real-world dynamic situations. I highly recommend this book."
--Steven Cohen, partner and specialist in mergers and acquisitions, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz

"Breakthrough Business Negotiation deserves a spot on every negotiator's bookshelf. Watkins has written a comprehensive guide that makes the daunting task of negotiation approachable for everyone. It is a rare gem that brings academic rigor to the real world. Even the most experienced negotiator will find much that is fresh and enjoyable here."
--Rob Aiello, managing director, Updata Capital

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 310 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 1 edition (June 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0787960128
• ISBN-13: 978-0787960124
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #132,156 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm the author of "the on-boarding bible*" The First 90 Days - which has sold over a 500,000 copies in English and has been translated into 27 languages. My mission is to help executives navigate their transitions into new roles though my work at Genesis Advisers (www.genesisadvisers.com). My new book is Your Next Move: The Leader's Guide to Navigating Major Career Transitions. Check it out at my personal website www.MichaelDWatkins.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What To Do When You've Gotten Past No, July 26, 2002

By 

Ruth Edlund "dark goddess of replevin" (King County, Washington:) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Breakthrough Business Negotiation: A Toolbox for Managers (Hardcover)

This book describes and demonstrates, with various case studies revisited throughout the book, a number of intermediate negotiation concepts. Readers with experience in negotation will find themselves looking up from time to time saying, "Oh, that thing has a formal name!" For example, the tendency of one party to discount or ignore conciliatory overtures from the other side is called "reactive devaluation." Labelling the concepts isn't necessarily of any use in the throes of a negotiation, but can be useful as a guide for analysis, and it was very interesting.

Not as simple as _Getting to Yes_, on which it obviously builds (I think all books about negotiation have to use the term "BATNA" to have any credibility these days), nor yet as complex as _Beyond Winning_, this book does in fact offer a "toolbox" of strategies for the negotiator's use in analyzing a situation and maximizing the likelihood of obtaining a desired outcome.

Of particular note is Watkins's emphasis on identifying and analyzing the interests of multiple players, which is more often encountered in the real world than the one-on-one situations more frequently used as examples by negotiation authors.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Packed with Knowledge!, April 29, 2003

By 

Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract" (Switzerland) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Breakthrough Business Negotiation: A Toolbox for Managers (Hardcover)

If you say po-tay-toe, and they say po-tah-toe, you say to-may-toe and they say to-mah-toe, you can work the whole thing out. Just ask Michael Watkins, Harvard associate professor and author of this solid primer on how to conduct effective negotiations. While "breakthrough" may seem like a title marketing pitch, since many of these techniques have been covered in other books, he organizes the material thoughtfully. Watkins emphasizes multi-party negotiating, examining the power of coalitions. He diagnoses the external and situational factors that shape even two-party negotiations and provides helpful examples, diagrams and lists. His clear interesting style is a big improvement over most ponderous academic tomes on negotiations. To get the most out of this volume, really read it, and then practice the techniques. getAbstract's position is clear: business managers, dispute resolution professionals and anyone facing multi-party negotiations should bring this to the table.

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Packed With Knowledge!, June 11, 2004

By 

Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract" (Switzerland) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Breakthrough Business Negotiation: A Toolbox for Managers (Hardcover)

If you say po-tay-toe, and they say po-tah-toe, you say to-may-toe and they say to-mah-toe, you can work the whole thing out. Just ask Michael Watkins, Harvard associate professor and author of this solid primer on how to conduct effective negotiations. While "breakthrough" may seem like a title marketing pitch, since many of these techniques have been covered in other books, he organizes the material thoughtfully. Watkins emphasizes multi-party negotiating, examining the power of coalitions. He diagnoses the external and situational factors that shape even two-party negotiations and provides helpful examples, diagrams and lists. His clear interesting style is a big improvement over most ponderous academic tomes on negotiations. To get the most out of this volume, really read it, and then practice the techniques. Are position is clear: business managers, dispute resolution professionals and anyone facing multi-party negotiations should bring this to the table.