Transcripts

Michael Benoliel:
When I try to mobilize colleagues for a particular idea, it's a negotiation. When somebody is trying to influence me to vote in a particular direction, that is a negotiation.

Michael Benoliol, Founder of the Center For Negotiation and author of the book, Done Deal.

Negotiation is an opportunity for 2 parties to come together and create mutual value.

Michael interviewed some of the world's best negotiators including sports agent Lee Steinberg, to discover their secrets.

What master negotiators will tell you is, you have to come to the table knowing exactly what you want. Otherwise how can you get what you want? And an interesting quote from Lee Steinberg; "Unfortunately most people enter negotiation virtually unarmed. They have a vague, often arbitrary notion of what they want. They are not properly prepared to get the result they are seeking and so they rarely get those results."

And it's critical, says Michael, that you understand that the purpose of negotiation is not to simply "make a deal."

It's about achieving your objectives. If you can achieve those objectives, then we have a deal. So are you interested in a deal? Certainly you are. Will you do your very best? Of course you will. But are you willing to walk away from the table? Yes you are.

At somethingyoushouldknow.net, I'm Mike Carruthers and that's Something You Should Know.