Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
65 of 67 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Conventional Wisdom be damned! Bring the Contrarian., November 13, 2002
Jim Camp is new to me but will most likely become quite a bright albeit controversial figure in management circles. Mr. Camp's new offering, START WITH NO, specifically debunks the methodology we were all taught in Negotiation 101...achieve "win-win" at all costs. Mr. Camp says NO, with a capital N, to this weak, antiquated negotiating objective.Mr. Camp introduces his theory, "...I believe win-win is hopelessly misguided as a basis for good negotiating, in business or in your personal life or anywhere else." So begins his treatise encapsulated in contrarian thinking toward negotiations of any type. Win-win, posits Mr. Camp, is an invitation to lose. While conventional tutelage is grounded in give-and-take compromise, Mr. Camp's negotiating foundation begins with giving or taking a No. Empowering an opponent to say No is power, according to Camp. Mr. Camp quotes the ever-popular negotiating gem, GETTING TO YES, and its basic definition of a "wise agreement." A wise agreement meets the legitimate interests of each side to the extent possible, resolves conflicting interests fairly, is durable, and takes community interests into account. Camp's theory is that compromise is implicit within this definition, perhaps explicit. His question: Why in the world compromise before you're certain you have to? Mr. Camp offers the reader an indepth view of why saying No is beneficial to a negotiator amongst an abundance of wisdom, tactics and observations from years of negotiation coaching. In the end, Mr. Camp leaves us with "The Thirty-three Rules" of negotiating. A few of these, which fly in the face of the conventional win-win theory: - Your job is not to be liked. Its to be respected and effective.
- Never enter a negotiation-never make a phone call-without a valid agenda.
- You do not need it. You only want it. {a very key attribute regardless the theoretical camp in which one resides}
- The value of the negotiation increase by multiples as time, energy, money, and emotion are spent.
- "No" is good, "yes" is bad, "maybe" is worse.
- "Our greatest strength is our greatest weakness (Emerson). All this said, Mr. Camp has presented an extremely cogent view of why win-win is outdated and outmoded. However, there are always situations wherein weakness is the position in which one begins providing a gauntlet of hurdles to clear before reaching the proprietary level of success. Consequently, it is my conclusion that, while Mr. Camp's methods are unorthodox and unconventional, they can be of great assistance to a negotiator who understands that each negotiation has its own set of facts and circumstances. No single negotiation exists in a vacuum. Commingled utilization of Mr. Camp's methodology along with emotion-neutral theories should prove valuable to the negotiating professional. A good solid read that should be part of any negotiators' library.
|
|
|
53 of 55 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A real eye-opener for anyone negotiating anything, March 13, 2004
I was VERY impressed with Jim Camp's "Start with No." In under 300 pages, the author gets his point across succinctly and powerfully; negotiations don't begin with "Yes" (which might even be a lie) or "Maybe" which is worse than useless. They begin with "No" and giving permission for the other party to say "no."The brilliance of the "no" can be the important "way out" in a negotiation, where one party is offered a graceful exit to avoid the sense of feeling trapped or tricked. And it's also the path to finding out what they really need or really can accept. But it's much more than that. Camp informs the reader that previous theories of negotiation such as "Win-Win" are pure bunkum; in negotiation, sometimes someone wins and someone else loses. But the long-term outcome may be quite different--what might have been compromised into a mediocre solution by win-win can often be better for both parties when one loses at the outset. Case in point; a contract is drawn up with terms that one party can no longer fulfill. It's time to renegotiate the contract despite the terms and conditions. Why? What if the contract specified that a vendor sell at a price that would drive them out of business? If the buyer NEEDS that product, they'd better negotiate rather than fail to receive the product. Going elsewhere to find it could be more costly than the re-negotiated price. Camp's experiences are in direct contrast to some of business guru Stephen Covey's "Seven Habits of Highly Successful People", which I thought was quite interesting. To remind you, the habits are: 1- Be Proactive
2- Begin with the End in Mind
3- Put First Things First
4- Think Win/Win
5- Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood
6- Synergize
7- Sharpen the Saw Mr. Camp actually has no issue with the majority of these habits, but he disagrees vehemently with two of the seven principles: #2--begin with the end in mind, and #4 Think Win/Win. In the case of negotiation, sometimes, Mr. Camp informs us, it's better not be so focused on the goal i.e, getting the lowest price, making that sales quota for that month) lest you appear needy. What's more, being too focused on your own goal might cause you to make dangerous assumptions or fail to realize the underlying situation. And Camp scoffs at the idea of win-win, giving the reader plenty of real-life examples where losing either was just that...losing, or was a neutral outcome (no win, but better than other potentially worse outcomes.) I recommend this book to anyone getting ready to negotiate nearly anything, from extended bedtimes for your kids, to a refinanced mortgage to a multi-million dollar deal. Excellent material here from this experienced contrarian.
|
|
|
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Camp Changed My Life, March 7, 2005
I picked up "Getting to Yes" in my first year of law school -- and quickly got tired of getting my rear handed to me every time I entered a negotiation. But I never found anything better until I picked up this book. Contrary to the folk wisdom that had been passed down to me, you don't have to be a tough, table-pounding, take-no-prisoners jerk to win a negotiation. Camp's style is unfailingly helpful and polite -- I could see my mother doing it -- but at the same time tough as nails. (Perhaps this explains why my mother always gets her way....) And although Camp (quite justifiably) spends a lot of time bashing "Getting to Yes," his style also looks for creative resolutions and synergies when they can be found. I just got through a particularly tough negotiation with my mission and purpose intact, giving my adversary the opportunity to say no at every turn, and I've never felt better. Thanks, Jim!
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
by Jim Camp
by Leigh L. Thompson
by Roger Fisher
