Publishers Weekly
02/03/2020
Negotiation isn’t a war, it’s a game—and it’s possible to learn how to play it, writes behavioral economist Sally (coauthor, The Numbers Game) in this valuable primer. Sally has taught negotiation to MBA students for 25 years, and found the two gold standards on the subject in business literature, Getting to Yes and How to Win Friends and Influence People, useful, but lacking when it comes to the crucial piece: learning to understand and respond to the opposing party. Reliably winning high-level negotiations, he proposes, requires becoming a world-class analytical observer of other people. Sally notes that the best negotiators are those who are simply better prepared on every level—from doing the research about the other party to understanding their own biases. Informed by game theory, the book covers how to pick the right battles, be fair as well as tough, manage gender stereotypes, be consistently “one step ahead,” and approach numbers as a valuable resource, rather than a necessary evil. Entertaining and conversational, this is an important tool for getting to yes, as well as understanding exactly what will prompt an opponent to say it. (May)
From the Publisher
"One Step Ahead helped me realize who I truly was as a negotiator. It was my good fortune to successfully operate in the most dire life and death situations in what remains one of the world's most complex regions. Thank you, David, for having the skill and understanding to break down the inner workings of my efforts in a way I had yet to experience in the written word." —Giandomenico (Gianni) Picco
"A comprehensive guidebook delivering valuable skills to apply in both business and personal relationships." —Library Journal (starred review)
“Entertaining and conversational, [One Step Ahead] is an important tool for getting to yes, as well as understanding exactly what will prompt an opponent to say it.” —Publishers Weekly
"A deep, thoughtful master class on the 'negotiation game.'" —Kirkus Reviews
"A beautifully written book which is wise, funny, scientific, and practical." —Colin Camerer, Professor at California Institute of Technology and author of Behavioral Game Theory
“‘Words matter.’ But David Sally writes, ‘Words present facts, question assumptions, express emotions, issue orders, declare war, elevate cardinals to Pope, sentence offenders to prison, create contracts and promises, and so on.’ That’s why his books are so much more fun to read than mine. This is the wisest, most readable book on negotiation I’ve seen. Destined to become a classic." —Robert H. Frank, author of Under the Influence: Putting Peer Pressure to Work
“From defusing ultimatums to the art of persuasion, David Sally delivers master lessons on negotiation. This book offers brilliant, practical, and engaging advice gleaned from business titans, world leaders, and scholars." —Maurice Schweitzer, Professor at the Wharton School and coauthor of Friend & Foe
“Negotiation is an area where most people think that they can 'wing it' and achieve their objectives. They could not be more wrong. One Step Ahead reveals the inner workings of negotiation with unsurpassed clarity and is an entertaining and essential way to get past the clichés. The people, scenes, and science David Sally captures will cause you to view the bargaining, con artists, beauty contests, toughness and fairness, emotions, words, and numbers in our world with changed and knowing eyes.” —Jonathan Klein, Co-founder, Deputy Chairman and former CEO (20 years), Getty Images
Library Journal
★ 03/01/2020
From 25 years of teaching negotiation (Johnson Sch., Cornell Univ.; Tuck Sch. of Business, Dartmouth Coll.), innovative strategist and behavioral economist Sally has discovered that the key to successful negotiation is to realize that it's a psychological and social process. Sally writes that being able to recognize certain things about the person with whom you are negotiating and to adapt one's strategy accordingly is key. He further assists readers in knowing when and when not to negotiate, and which of their personality traits will help in a negotiation and how to cultivate these characteristics. Research, practical scenarios, and countless examples from business reinforce Sally's instruction. VERDICT A comprehensive guidebook delivering valuable skills to apply in both business and personal relationships.
Kirkus Reviews
2020-02-05
How to become “a mindful, sophisticated negotiator.”
Behavioral economist Sally, a veteran teacher of negotiations at Cornell and Dartmouth, goes beyond his two favorite books on the topic—How To Win Friends and Influence People (“not scientific”) and Getting To Yes (“limited”)—to explain how “becoming an analytical observer of the people around you” is the path to more effective negotiation. In this appealing, well-written book, he covers the skills and moves of outstanding negotiators, who “read” their counterparts, react, and create winning outcomes. The single most important factor for successful negotiators, writes the author, is toughness—not belligerent but rather determined and focused. Thorough preparation is critical. Advanced practitioners multitask, “practice, practice, practice,” and exhibit Edgar Allan Poe’s qualities of a con man: “minuteness, interest, perseverance, ingenuity, audacity, nonchalance, originality, impertinence, and grin.” They are “Machiavelli-esque,” combining concepts from game theory with insights from social psychology. Sally draws on a wonderful array of sources to illustrate his points, including beauty contests, TV wrestling, sociologist Erving Goffman’s insights into “framing negotiation as a drama,” John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath, the Korean armistice talks, and U.N. diplomat Gianni Picco’s preparations for his early 1990s negotiations to free Western hostages in Lebanon. Whether discussing the advantages of a Columbo-like “surface incompetence” or of changing a bargaining persona “as if it were a mask,” the author fully explores the nuances of interactions. He also celebrates Richard Holbrooke’s winning “performance” during talks to end the Bosnia conflict, when the American diplomat’s troubled expression forced counterparts to ask, “What is it?” and Holbrooke said, “I’m worried. I don’t know if it’s going to work.” There are detailed chapters on key aspects of negotiation, from drama, acting, and performance to fairness, gender, and emotions.
Not a quick read like many similar books but rather a deep, thoughtful master class on the “negotiation game.
