The Harvard Negotiation Project Revolution
In 1981, Roger Fisher and William Ury published Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In, transforming negotiation from positional trench warfare into principled, interest-based value creation.
Traditional negotiators view negotiation as a zero-sum tug of war: one side wins, the other loses. Principled negotiation focuses on separating the people from the problem, uncovering underlying interests, and inventing options for mutual gain.
Understanding BATNA: Your Ultimate Leverage
BATNA stands for Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement. It is the course of action you will execute if the current negotiation ends in total failure.
Many negotiators believe power comes from charismatic bluster, table-thumping, or aggressive intimidation. In reality, negotiation leverage is simple: Whoever has the superior BATNA has the power. If an enterprise software vendor knows you have no other viable database provider, they will charge you full retail. If you have a fully validated open-source alternative ready to deploy on Monday, you command the negotiation.