Top positive review
4.0 out of 5 starsThey are almost honest about the amount of lying that goes on in negotiation.
Reviewed in the United States on February 27, 2023
I use this book in a class on dispute resolution. Of course, I have to use Getting to Yes because everyone in the world, living or dead, says its the best book on negotiation. But like Getting to Yes, and virtually every book and video and lecture and paper, it promotes the notion of principled negotiation. Which is wonderful and ideal. A standard to strive for in every walk of life.
But my real world experience tells me, at least in my field of Real Estate Development and Construction, that a lot of lying goes on. Bargaining for Advantage, doesn't promote it, but it talks about people who find lying, exaggerating, leaving things out etc. to be within the ethical boundaries, and, most certainly, legal ones. There are even published guidelines for lawyers to know how much they can lie and still be ethical. It is wrong to talk about puffing and fraud at the same time. Fraud is a crime. It can land someone in jail, and should. But when a general contractor tells a plumbing bidder he has a lower price, and doesn't, this is not a crime. It's nice to sit in an ivory tower and cry unethical every time a bottom line is revealed inaccurately but I will not send my students into the world without a true picture of what they will encounter. I have seen a lot of treachery in my career. Bid rigging, graft, extortion. It exists. If you offer 200 and they ask 700 for something worth 250, you set yourself up to be fleeced. Some idiot, probably a lawyer on the other side, will say let's split the difference. Will you end up paying 450, leaving 200 on the table. Better to go in at 100. When you sweeten your offer you jump to 120, not 200. There is a tango that goes on among even ethical people in negotiations. All the time. You have to learn it, even If you don't want to play. You have to be able to spot deception and deal with it. Bargaining for Advantage helps.
