Customer Reviews

Negotiate and Win: Unbeatable Real-World Strategies from the NYPD's Top Negotiator

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I bought this book for business but when I started reading it I realized that it was aimed more at a general, everyday audience. As such, it gives a very good overview of negotiating and emphasizes the basics very well. Advanced negotiators may see it as more of a refersher course. I thought the idea of splitting the roles of the team up were pretty useful, and I hadn't actually thought of it that way before. (But probably had done it.) But even if I hadn't learned anything, I'd say the book was entertaining as all get out. The stories he uses to illustrate his points are great. Highly recommended, especially for people who are a little put off by the idea that negotiating is war (it's not).

I saw the movie "The Negotiator" on TV last night and the title of this book grabbed my attention this morning. This is a very quick-read book, with a casual style. You can practically hear Mr. Misino's Bronx accent in the text. In fact, it would take a little convincing that this isn't simply a transcript of one of his consulting workshops. Mr. Misino is relatively entertaining, but I'm not convinced that he is also an educator.

There are a few of his hostage negotiation stories sprinkled in as flavor, but often the point is not terribly clear. Chapter 10 attempts to tie his topic to the real world by illustrating how to negotiate for a car and a house but doesnt seem to show much negotiation after all ... just how to research a good price and then stick to your price demand. This could be a really great, powerful book if it were better organized and edited. The casual style tends to ramble in circles around the two main points:

1) Know what you want ahead of time. What is and isnt negotiable, and what your plan B is.
2) Negotiation is establishing rapport, getting information, and getting the deal.

Quite a bit of text is spent on building rapport, including how to listen actively and get to the first "yes". Less focus is put on how to gather information relevant to business deals (or any deals that dont involve hostages), and very little focus is spent on getting the deal. The book description from the publisher is a good outline of the book's meat ... if you've read the description, you wont really need to read the book. So while I can see that this would be an interesting read for those in training to be hostage negotiators, the connection to business negotiation is extremely tenuous.

Dominick Misino discusses here very nice in detail hostage negotiations. And that is what this book is about...."hostage negotiations" and certainly not "business negotiations". As long as you keep in mind you are reading a book about hostage negotiations you will love this book.

It is clear and fast written with often funny anecdotes from the field. It does covers though all the elements of business negotiations just from a different viewpoint. It reminds you on preparation and goalsetting (and why it should stay untouched), what elements should be in place, how to deal with the more difficult personalities, etc... So as an extra element to understand negotiations overall, this hostage negotiations book does come in handy. Each topic is nicely presented and easy to remember. Great as introduction or refresher!

If you are interested in business negotiations itself on a more academic and psychological level, I would recommend "Negotiation Genius" by Deepak Malhotra & Max Bazerman and "Hostage at the table" by George Kohlrieser.

Worthwhile to read is also Harvard Business Review 2002 (Reprint number R0210C) "Negotiation without a net: A conversation with the NYPD's Dominick J. Misino".


Contents:
Introduction: Talk to me
Chapter 1: Fifty Ninja warriors on your back (Teamwork and the different roles in a negotiation)
Chapter 2: Position is everything (Before you negotiate, be mentally and physically in the right place)
Chapter 3:Don't give the bad guy a gun (Before you begin to negotiate, know what you will not give up)
Chapter 4: Contain, Negotiate, Close (There are three phases to every negotiation. Finish one before you go on to the next)
Chapter 5: Your ears are your most important tool (Good negotiating comes down to good listening. If you can't hear, you can't negotiate)
Chapter 6: The first yes (Establishing rapport makes it possible to negotiate when your life is on the line)
Chapter 7: Is he a psycho, or just a maniac (Knowing what kind of crazy you're dealing with can help you tailor your negotiation approach)
Chapter 8: The two D's: Demand and Deadlines (To the skilled negotiator, demands and deadlines are like diamonds: your best friend)
Chapter 9: Sometimes it only takes three cigarettes (The end game: closing the deal)
Chapter 10: The 5-minutes car deal and more real life adventures (A hostage negotiator looks at some real-life negotiation problems)
Chapter 11: Don't get taken (Tips to avoid becoming a sucker - or a hostage)

'Closing a Deal', 'Asking for a Raise', 'Buying A Car' on the cover sucked me in to buying this book. However, I didn't find much correlation between hostage negotiation and the business world other than some obvious points (i.e. do your research). The book had some funny stories but more from an entertainment perspective than a learning tool.

I think Mr. Misino did a poor job in correlating hostage negotiations to the business world.

Dominick had engaged a good agent in helping him package the book. The title and the excerpt were attractive to any readers interested in the art of negotiation.

This book is a good read over the weekend. I am serious here, the content is light and reading is a breeze. It took me less than a day to finish this book.

In term of content, it provided glimpse of the life of a negotiator. This book provides very limited value if your goal is to learn the art of negotiation.

The price is steep for the value of the content. You could categorise this book more appropriately as a biography or an anecdote.