Customer Reviews

Negotiating with Giants

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Each of us, at some point in our lives, will confront our own goliath: a boss, company, government or nation that's dramatically bigger and more powerful than us. While the odds may seem stacked against us, "Negotiating with Giants" provides a golden ray of hope. The author reminds us that we're "negotiating", not simply when we're "at the table", but whenever we try to influence our giant in any way. He then clearly defines the secrets and strategies for "getting what you want, against the odds", with a writing style that is crisp, strong and confident. While the book is highly thorough and intelligent, it is equally engaging and entertaining. What makes this book truly stand out is the rich stories the author draws on to bring his key messages to life. Dozens of true stories, encompassing business, political, social, and individual situations, are viewed through the lens of giant negotiations. These stories alone make great reading.

"Negotiating with Giants" is well-organized and highly accessible. It includes chapter summaries ("Final Thoughts"), and a four page, back-of-the-book summary (more authors should include one!) that cross-references the negotiation secrets and strategies, with stories and page numbers. These thoughtful features make me believe "Negotiating with Giants" will be an indispensable reference tool for business executives, politicians, citizens and activists...or anyone else, for that matter, facing a goliath.

I've grown tired of how people state that they're going to "call corporate" as if they were calling God Almighty. With mergers and conglomerates on the brink of monopolies, it's very easy to feel powerless against their nasty practices. "Negotiating with Giants" gives you the ammo you need against these fat cats. The stories are engaging and poignant. The strategies are so precise you feel as though you're prying into top secret files. Johnston not only helps us defend ourselves in these overly-litigous times but offers hope on how to improve the world by turning that defense into a wily offense.

This is a great book that many will appreciate and learn from. The author uses examples from history (Canadian, American, and International), politics, popular culture, personal vignettes, and of course, some business examples. This isn't your typical dry business book. Johnston is a witty story teller and I found myself wanting to finish the book.

You see, I've started many business books only to put them down. I am not the usual target market for this genre of books, but my husband is and so occasionally I'll grab the book (or the various business magazines that we subscribe to) and read it (them).

This book had me thinking about negotiating deadlines with colleagues and even the possibility of impending salary negotiations. What I found really useful: the inclusion of chapter synopses that I think business types will love. I also read through all the footnotes, hey, I am an academic afterall, and enjoyed his concise, yet informative notes.

I was really impressed with the amount of research that was undertaken with this book. At times it read like a story, which I think is useful for most readers. The bulleted areas explaining the message or key points of each chapter were useful. I'm still thinking about the book and the shared stories.

Overall, this is a great book and I look forward to talking to others about it. I think some of my students who are close to graduating and thinking about full-time work would benefit from reading the book.