BOOK REVIEWS
Getting more: How You Can Negotiate to Succeed in Work & Life
By Stuart Diamond
Publisher: Penguin (1 September 2011) ISBN-10: 0141049944
Professor Stuart Diamond is the manwho brought an end to the Hollywood writers strike in 2008 and his negotiations course is the most oversubscribed class at Wharton Business School. He sets out his central principles of negotiation in a new book, GettingMore. The book is based on the principle that negotiation is part
of almost every human interaction, and thatmost people are ill-prepared for it. Diamond believes that by becomingmore aware of ourselves and others, individuals can become nego- tiators at their core rather than learning to apply a series of negotiation tools. Challenging the conventional wisdom that many of us
will have been taught in business school, Diamond tells the reader that negotiation is not about “best alternative to a negotiated agreement” (BATNA) or bargaining ranges or any of their various cousins. Instead he urges the reader to become focused on the psychology of the people involved and crucially to ask questions to acquire knowledge, which can then be used to complement strategy. He is adamant that unless the negotiator spends significant time getting inside the head of their opposition, then opportunities will be missed and negotiation will fail. Diamond tells us that goals “are the be-all and end-all of negotiation”. He urges the reader not to be distracted by external factors or perceptions.He freely admits that having goals is nothing new, but argues that although we are almost all aware of the importance of goals, very few of us actually have them and that thosewho do get distracted easily during the process and lose sight of their goals. This is hard to deny. The author summarises his Wharton course into three questions: • What aremy goals? • Who are they? • What will it take to persuade them?
The logic behind the three questions approach is that goals
change from negotiation to negotiation as do the individuals involved, but the answers to the first two questions will always dictate the answer to the third. In developing a per- suasion strategy, the author suggests we draw from a ‘list’ of negotiation strategies combined with background informa- tion reflecting an understanding that every negotiation is complex and unique.
‘It’s hard to argue with the key points – eliminate
emotion, understand your opponent’s perception and stay focusedonyourgoals’
There are few revelations in this book with much of the content seeming simplistic at first. However, it’s hard to argue with the key points – eliminate emotion, understand your opponent’s perception and stay focused on your goals. The book’s style of dispensing knowledge through a never- ending series of stories and testimonials can be tiresome but the overall effect works, reminding us that negotiation is a way of life rather than just a business competency to be wheeled out when needed.
Hugh Hardiman (MBA 09) is communications advisor at Shell E&P Ireland
UCD BUSINESS CONNECTIONS 41
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