Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In

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Ashanti

Interesting

Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2023

This was a required reading for class. I learned som valuable things from it.

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BSL

Would make an excellent magazine article.

Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2023

This book suffers from a common problem with "Advice" or self help books. This would make a powerful magazine article, but become repetitive and full of fluff in book form. The principles seem sound, but I gave up and just scanned the book. If you really want this info I would get the kindle not the bound version. That way you can scan through it.

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From the United States

Ashanti

Interesting

Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2023

Verified Purchase

This was a required reading for class. I learned som valuable things from it.

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Yes, this is a "must read"

Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2007

Verified Purchase

Reviewing a book 15 years after its publication might seem a bit pointless. But that depends on the book. In this case, we're talking about a book that has near cult status in the business community.

Over the past 15 years, this book has been referred to and revered in thousands--if not millions--of articles, seminars, college course, and training programs. In fact, as of the date of this review over 100 published books cite Getting to Yes.

If you're in business and haven't read this book, you are operating with less than full power. But the book has value well beyond the business world. If you've ever had a disagreement end in a way that left you or the other party feeling cheated or manipulated, that ending probably came about because you were either bargaining about position or confusing the people with the problem. Either strategy guarantees at least one loser. Unfortunately, most disagreements follow one or both of these losing strategies.

With discipline and practice, you can apply the knowledge in this book so that you:

* Preserve relationships without giving in (go along to get along).
* Can satisfy the interests of both parties.
* Ensure both parties are motivated to uphold their end of the bargain.
* Feel good about the agreement reached and the people who reached it.

The strategies have nothing to do with tricking other people or playing games. The strategies have everything to do with respecting other people and refusing to play games.

In the publishing world, "thud factor" is a major consideration. Many readers expect filler, in the form of anecdotes and stories (as if they want the author to assume they are too daft to understand assertions made directly in plain English). Getting to Yes is 200 pages long, with the last 50 pages or so being basically a review and a "Cliff Notes" of the first 150. So, you have the book followed by a summary of the book. What you don't have is 150 pages stretched to 300 pages with stories that a busy executive would rather skip.

The concise writing is a huge plus to many people, but some reviewers see it as a minus. So, you may also read reviews saying that other books are "better" because they are thicker.

I have two proposed solutions to that:

1. Read the first 150 pages of Getting to Yes twice. This will equal 300 pages.
2. Read the book, then practice it. Take 150 pages of notes regarding your experiences. You now have the stories and filler you wanted.

The authors wrote this book not to entertain, but to educate. It gets to the point. There is no obfuscation, meandering, or distraction. That same communication style is required in a negotiation. The occasional anecdote may be helpful, but to lead a negotiation to a successful conclusion you must focus on the real issues. That is what this book does. And that's why it's a classic in the classroom and in the boardroom, and in executive suites and staterooms throughout the world.

Be sure to read Getting Past No and The Power of a Positive No, as well.

19 people found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

Getting To Yess

Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2023

Verified Purchase

A great book

One person found this helpful

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Lisa Shea

Great Information, Could Use Better Layout

Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2012

Verified Purchase

The title of Fisher and Ury's book is Getting to Yes - Negotiating Agreement without Giving In. It's a case where the title clearly lays out what the book is about. In Getting to Yes the authors present, step by step, how to find your way to a win-win solution that helps meet your goals while at the same time preserving the relationship so that future negotiations also go smoothly.

This book was the assigned textbook for a college course I took on negotiation, but it's one of those fairly rare cases where the material that's useful for a college course is also immensely useful for off-the-street people in a variety of situations. This book avoids complicated jargon and long, droning background chapters. Instead, it plunges into helpful information to assist people in negotiating for a new car, negotiating issues with their landlords, and all the many ways we all negotiate for our position throughout life.

Negotiation isn't just for union leaders trying to avert a strike. All of us negotiate each day as we try to juggle our many roles. We negotiate with our co-workers over assignments. We negotiate with our family members over chores. In an ideal world all of those discussions would go quickly, smoothly, and with as little strife as possible.

Getting to Yes provided numerous helpful examples which made their points more easy to understand. It is so true that people tend to remember stories where they might not remember dry text. When I think about this book I do remember several of the stories clearly, and those help to represent the points the authors were making. The stories help remind me to focus on the issues when negotiating and to look for objective standards to work with.

The information presented is wonderful, and immediately useful in life.

On the down side, this is a new version of older material. The authors chose to keep the initial book in its original form and then add on additional information at the end. I appreciate for historical reasons why they wanted to do that. However, from a fresh reader point of view, I feel they should present an integrated whole which most clearly presents the full information. The way the book is laid out currently, you have to go back and forth to find all information on a given topic.

Also, the format is not laid out for easy reference. If they went more for a "dummies" style with an easy to scan layout, graphs and charts to quickly find and scan, and quick end-summaries, that would make this more useful as a reference book to keep on a shelf. Right now if I had an issue to handle it would be less than quick to grab the book and find the answer. I would have to wade through the book to figure out where to get the support I needed.

Still, I do recommend that everyone read this book at least once, to build their skills in negotiation. It's something we all have to do!

200 people found this helpful

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Ricardo G

Very Practical

Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2023

Verified Purchase

This is my first book on negotiation and I really liked it. Very practical.

It touches key concepts. It’s like the 5 live languages but for negotiation. It puts things into perspective.

I recommend to anyone. For business, for sales, for married couples and parents. Life has negotiations everywhere and this book will help!

3 people found this helpful

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Max

Why is power. Why is beautiful.

Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2022

Verified Purchase

I am a How kind of person. I wonder How I will get something done and I get methodical about approaching it. How is an important part of Why. I've always been better at How than understanding my Why.

Why is energy. Why is direction. Even if you know How to point yourself in a direction, if you really understand Why you are pointing and going that way, you will go faster. In addition, if others understand Why you are going a certain direction, they are more likely to help you get where you are going, However you choose to do it.

Why is a critical component of my own happiness. Why is motivating me to be more productive at work. Why is great for my marriage.

Be like Simon Sinek. Find your Why. Let him help you. Get this book. When you are done, recommend a friend or colleague buy it. If they don't immediately, give them your copy. Spread the gospel.

9 people found this helpful

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Abi Noda

A lifesaver

Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2016

Verified Purchase

*Getting to Yes* is the book you should've read five years ago. Whether you're asking for a raise, working on a business deal, or dealing with your landlord, if you're looking for more sophistication and success in your negotiation strategies than "start high", this is the book for you.

*Getting to Yes* is a complete framework for "principled negotiation"–two or more parties working together to best address their mutual interests with creative, objectively fair solutions. If you're unfamiliar with principled negotiation, it's the complete opposite of our conventional image of negotiation: two hard-heads pitted against one another in a battle of will and wit.

This book is not about mind-bending or psychological tricks–rather. Rather, it is a systematic process to ensure you make the most out of negotiation while achieving a durable outcome, beginning with how to know whether to negotiate at all and what to consider a positive outcome.

This book is definitely worth a quick review/re-read before any major negotiation. Below is my short field manual for reference.

Planning:

* Before starting out, develop a BATNA and trip wire so you know exactly what you are trying to get out of negotiation and when it's no longer worth the time. Remember that the reason you negotiate is to produce something better than the results you can obtain without negotiating.
* Start listing out (guessing is ok) what the interests of each side are
* Brainstorm and list out any negative perceptions the other side has about you, and think of ways to counter these perceptions by acting in ways that are inconsistent with them
* Make note of conflicting interests and brainstorm potential objective criteria for resolving them

Negotiating:

* Clearly identify and list out both side's interests (use a whiteboard) and then focus on a nonjudgmental brainstorming session to come up with ways to address various interests
* During negotiation, always respond to positions and demands by asking for the principled justification (eg. how did you determine that?)
* Continue to extract interests from positions and list them
* Sit side by side facing the problem to reinforce as a team-based problem solving activity
* Do not back down from your interests. Don't be glued to any positions, but stay hard on your interests and insist they be addressed objectively.
* Don't fall for the "let's all agree and put an end to this" bandwagon.
* Don't forget about your BATNA and trip wire. Know when to end negotiation.

6 people found this helpful

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Marguerite

A nice new perspective on diplomacy

Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2023

Verified Purchase

A lot of what is in this book I already knew personally through applying common sense however the book was delightful and insightful to read and provided many real world examples. Would recommend this book to anyone.

2 people found this helpful

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ricardo lopez

Great read

Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2023

Verified Purchase

I used it for my college course.

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Peyton Daisy

A must read for those involved in community issues

Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2012

Verified Purchase

The premise of Getting to Yes is relatively simple; in essence the traditional view of negotiation (as a game of "give and take" between parties) is largely unproductive and can shatter working relationships between parties. Under this traditional view, parties are forced to choose between hardline negotiations (where you attempt to force your desired outcome) and softline negotiation (where you make extreme concessions in order to preserve the relationship). The authors offer a new outlook (referred to as "principled negotiation") where all parties work to make objective and rational statements about their desired outcomes (including providing empirical reasoning for their desired outcome). This new approach (summarized in the Appendix) removes the oppositional/adversarial outlook of negotiation and works to find creative solutions which satisfy the needs of all parties involved.

The model proposed is easy to use. The first step involves detaching personal politics from negotiation. Through making the negotiation about the issue at hand, the authors claim that relationships are more likely to be preserved regardless of the outcome of the negotiation. A major element of removing personal politics from the negotiation is to focus on personal interest rather than a hard position. Expressing personal interest in more lucid terms rather than abbreviated and absolute terms (e.g. "I would like to be able to sell the house and have a capital gain that would allow me to put 20% on house X" rather than "I would like to get $160,000 for the house") allows both parties to understand the interest at play and to work to explore mutually beneficial outcomes. In addition to expressing personal interests, the authors also insist that the terms of the negotiation be expressed in objective terms (i.e. when negotiating the house price an offer would be based off of the same quantitative/qualitative comparisons used in an appraisal). Instead of throwing out arbitrary figures in order to whittle a party up or down, each party must justify their request with some particular objective fact.

As the authors conclude the book, they provide a set of "Frequently Asked Questions" that they've received since publishing the first edition of the text. Each of the questions delve into more specific detail regarding how to employ the techniques in situations where power imbalances may be at place or one party simply refuses to negotiate.

Overall, the authors use the bulk of the text to compare and contrast traditional negotiation styles with their proposed "principled" negotiation technique.

27 people found this helpful

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