Negotiation is a universal art, but many of us are surprisingly bad at it, especially those raised in cultures in which bargaining is not the norm. (I once participated in a panel on how to run a successful freelance business; at least half the audience confessed to almost never negotiating with their clients over rates.)
Even if you consider yourself an old hand at getting the best of your bargaining partner, I urge you to check out the Dec. 21 podcast of Planet Money. It’s about how to negotiate for things, especially when you’re Barack Obama and the US Congress and you’re trying to avert the fiscal cliff. I’ve distilled the lessons contained in that episode, plus a few from the literature, below.
Keep reading this article at http://www.govexec.com/excellence/promising-practices/2013/01/how-negotiate-anything/60422/?oref=govexec_today_nl.
Check out this valuable resource on negotiations located on the web site created by The Contracting Education Academy at Georgia Tech: http://contractingacademy.gatech.edu/2011/02/con-120-lession-6-negotiation-rules-bargaining-process/
