How to Negotiate Like a Child: Unleash the Little Monster Within to Get Everything You Want [Hardcover]

Bill Adler Jr. (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 081447294X | ISBN-13: 978-0814472941 | Publication Date: October 28, 2005

Anyone who's ever argued with a child knows that they can be incredible little negotiators. "How to Negotiate Like a Child" mixes lighthearted, tongue-in-cheek humor with eminently practical real-world strategies to show readers how to turn the tide in any adult negotiation by using kids' tactics. From throwing a tantrum, to taking your toys and going home, this unique book will make readers smile while opening their eyes to remarkably effective negotiating strategies they've never before thought to use. Techniques can be used effectively in all aspects of business, from getting a job to closing a deal and even in non-business situations - everything from trying to get an airline seat, to dealing with customer service at the phone company.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"MarketingProfs Today e-newsletter: ""a tongue-in-cheek but eminently practical handbook to get you what you want.""

Library Journal: ""This droll little work will do well on public library shelves.""

The Globe and Mail (Toronto): ""The book is humorously written, fun to read -- and potentially useful in expanding your negotiating approach. But Mr. Adler stresses that getting your child to clean his or her room is beyond the scope of the book."""

Book Description

"Look into the eyes of a child and you will find yourself face-to-face with one of the world's greatest negotiators. Children are naturals at manipulating, cajoling, arguing, sweet-talking, and conning their parents into pretty much anything they want on a regular basis. So why don't we as adults borrow a page or two from their playbook?

Tongue in cheek yet eminently practical, How to Negotiate Like a Child explains how a high-powered lawyer can lose an argument with a four-year-old in seconds flat. With chapter titles like ""I Have to Ask My Mommy"" and ""Take Your Ball and Go Home,"" the book lets adults in on masterful child negotiation techniques like:

* throwing a tantrum

* getting sympathy

* pretending you don't understand what the other side is saying

* playing one side against the other

* acting irrationally

Showing how to easily implement these simple strategies in situations of all kinds -- from negotiating a million-dollar business deal to getting a seat on an airplane -- this amusing little book helps readers get whatever they want."

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 17 and up
  
• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: AMACOM (October 28, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 081447294X
• ISBN-13: 978-0814472941
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,442,261 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well written, funny and very helpful for the savvy business person, December 12, 2005

By 

Larry Kahaner "www.AK-47book.com" (Mclean, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Negotiate Like a Child: Unleash the Little Monster Within to Get Everything You Want (Hardcover)

At first I thought this was going to be another gimmicky business book, but I found myself surprised by its fresh approach to one of the most troublesome areas of business: how to negotiate the best deal.

This book does not suggest that we act like children in the boardroom but rather to take what we know about children's successful techniques for getting what they want and transferring it to the world of everyday business.


For example, we all know how well children pit parents against each other. We are aware of it and we still fall for it. (Not always but enough to make it a valuable bargaining tool in some situations.) Adler shows how to use this technique in negotiations. Simple? Yes. But does it work? You bet.

In another section, Adler discusses optimism. Very few negotiating tools are as strong as going in and knowing that you're going to win. Children do it all the time. We should be doing it, too - at the office.

One of my favorites is acting naïve, like you don't know what the other person is saying. It's a treacherous and powerful technique if done right. I have used it myself.

Different deals require different strategies and this book has more than 50 to choose from.

This book should be on every businessperson's bookshelf.

I am a big fan of Adler's other books and have reviewed several of them. This one is keeping with his tradition of lively writing, strong information and great value.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cute and Useful, November 24, 2005

By 

Roger E. Herman (Greensboro, NC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How to Negotiate Like a Child: Unleash the Little Monster Within to Get Everything You Want (Hardcover)

When I picked up this book, I wasn't sure just what I had in my hands. The size is smaller than the typical 6X9" business book. At 7.5X6", it's like one of those impulse items at the cash register. The picture of the mean-looking kid on the cover, with a subtitle about unleashing the little monster within you made me wonder if this book would be sarcastic, a parody, or a satire.

What I discovered was a tight little book that, while light-hearted in approach, delivers a pretty good dose of negotiating techniques. When you gain insight into how children negotiate, unwittingly, you can gain some tips and approaches to how to negotiate with adults. The knowledge you gain here will probably not help you negotiate better with kids-that may be fruitless!

As you move through the short chapters, you'll collect all sorts of interesting perspectives on negotiating techniques. The delightful list begins with Throw a Tantrum and continues with tactics like Just Cry, Call in Back-Up, Be Nice, Take Your Ball and Go Home, Play One Side Against the Other, and Change the Subject. There's a good use of adult examples showing how the book's principles have been used by grown-ups who are, after all just kids in bigger bodies.

A strong table of contents and index makes it easy for readers to find their favorite nuggets to re-read them.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars These negotiation tactics may be inspired by children, but they offer some real insights, February 5, 2006

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Negotiate Like a Child: Unleash the Little Monster Within to Get Everything You Want (Hardcover)

Bill Adler Jr.'s How To Negotiate Like A Child: Unleash The Little Monster Within To Get Everything You Want uses the premise that kids are the best negotiators in the world to show how the qualities of determination and stubbornness might translate well to a business environment. These negotiation tactics may be inspired by children, but they offer some real insights; from using tantrums as a 'secret weapon' (if Bill Gates can do it, so can others) to changing the rules and appearing needy.