Customer Reviews

The Negotiation Toolkit: How to Get Exactly What You Want in Any Business or Personal Situation

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

 

 

Overall, this book is good, but much of it is unoriginal and some of it raises doubts about the author's grasp of practice. For a start, Dr Volkema falls back on the tired "dual concerns" model of conflict style, with its blend of concern for the self and the other. The model is okay, but it has become a cliche, like win-win etc. For good reasons, many authors (excluding Dr Volkema) have at least come to reject "compromising" (moderate concern for both self and other), one of the five distinct (doubtful in itself) styles that comprise the standard model. "Avoiding" is also suspect as a style, especially as defined by Dr Volkema: "avoiding not only the issues but the other party or parties and negotiation itself." Surely you do not use a negotiation style if you avoid negotiation itself. Here and there, the book contains silly examples and advice. For instance, if you don't mind being a pain in the rear, and need to satisfy your ego, take Dr Volkema's advice to go to a restaurant and "negotiate" a dish that is not on the menu. (Make sure you send back the wine.) Don't try it in Paris. He claims that a request to check in for a domestic flight at an international counter "is likely to be met with the utmost receptivity." On what planet? He advises us to insist on negotiating only with those who are authorized to close a deal and sign a contract. Don't try it in China. Dr Volkema has a friend who is presented as a good tactician because he takes out a book and makes people wait until he has finished reading. Unlike the other blather-mouthed tricks suggested by Dr Volkema, that one should keep you quiet while you feed your ego. But, don't try it anywhere.

I had the opportunity to be Roger's student at a Negotiation Summer Course in IAG/PUC - Rio de Janeiro. This book captures the essence of his course. It contains a lot of negotiations tactics, behaviors and other precious hints. It is a very powerful and useful tool. Great book.

As the title implies, this book gives you the tools you need - in the form of information and tactics - to negotiate effectively. No matter what line of work you're in, you'll benefit from the negotiation principles, strategies and styles that Roger J. Volkema presents in an easy-to-read format. He includes exercises that you can use to test your comprehension of the material and to start developing your skills. His chapters on ethics and cross-cultural negotiations, while general, provide an intellectual starting point for further investigations. This book will give you a basic foundation for effective negotiation, but if you're in a business that demands the skill, you'll want to follow up with some more advanced reading and training. Nevertheless, we [...] recommend this book to anyone who feels a little overwhelmed whenever they find themselves across the table from a negotiating adversary, whether it's your boss, an employee a customer or - gulp! - your spouse.

I was required to purchase this book for a graduate level negotiations class taught by the author. I am not an expert in negotiations, but this book appears to be quite below my reading level in any event. The theories and case studies presented are rather simple and quite obvious. I would recommend this book to someone looking for a quick and easy guide to everyday negotiations. However, my hunch is that this book barely scratches the surface of modern negotiations theory, as applied in business.

This book is dull and is filled with frivalous "facts," such as some people are "hard core toughies." It's full of such un-intelligent dribble. Another example, a chapter about playing "good cop, bad cop." Save your money and buy something a little more interesting and enlightening.

Simple, to the point & no blah-blah. The content is very well presented. Quite useful as a step-by-step guide to improve your negotiation skill. The things mentioned is not rocket-science . To me, if I can fully practice what the books mentioned, I believe I would be a very good negotiator already. However, it will take some time, a lot of practice & self-reflectio though.

I publish a newsletter for radio station management and Talk talent; and reviewed this book in a recent issue. Generally, negotiating is something radio people are TERRIBLE at. Sales people under-value radio ad time (mathematically the most cost-efficient marketing medium in the history of mankind). And Talk talent who sound so self-assured on-air just CRUMBLE when it's time to negotiate their own deals. Anyone in our industry would profit quickly from reading this book.