Quotes About Negotiation

If nobody is happy, then it's an equitable merger. —Maxim of airline seniority list arbitration

Free states characteristically attempt to restrain aggressive tyrannies through rational negotiation. Aggressive tyrannies understand the essential absurdity of such negation, but nonetheless participate in it with enthusiasm, knowing that it will camouflage their intentions and win them time. Negotiating with wronged people, one turns the subject of conversation from the correction of past wrongs to the prevention of future wrongs.

Unless Russia is faced with an iron fist and strong language another war is in the making. Only one language do they understand—'How many divisions have you?

A valid contract requires voluntary offer, acceptance, and consideration.

We were taught that the more irate the debtor—the more he or she screamed, swore, and insulted us—the more long pauses we should take before answering questions and the more slowly and calmly we should talk.

The engineer said his solution is to orient himself "as a comrade inside of the walls, therefore bypassing the confrontation." He avoids the asshole's wrath by expressing empathy and finding common ground—shared interests such as hobbies, sports, or politics

As a boy, the conflict avoider saw many arguments, but never any resolution. This left him with the wrong idea not only about arguments, but also about relationships. He thought that there was no such thing as a healthy argument. He learned that he hated conflict, so he became the peacemaker. Reconciling conflicting parties—or keeping the peace—

On 19 July 1956, Secretary of State Dulles abruptly announced that the United States was rescinding its Aswan Dam financing offer. 'May you choke to death on your fury', a defiant Nasser railed at the United States. World Bank President Eugene Black warned Dulles that 'all hell might break loose'.

The owner I was searching for was the guy who would come to the phone and give at least some indication that he might be interested in selling his property. I say indication, because an owner will rarely come right out and admit that he's interested in selling his property.

The reality was that the more desperate the owner, the better my chances of concluding a sale. As a result of my new posture, desperation had become my best friend. Thus, if the owner's asking price was at least within shouting distance of the ball-park price I had calculated, and assuming there were no extraordinarily negative factors involved, I would be prepared to move forward with trying to find a buyer.

During the second call, I explained that since we were both (meaning the buyer and me) busy people, I thought it would save a lot of time if he could answer a few quick questions over the phone. That way, I explained, I could avoid sending him properties that did not fall within his guidelines.

That's because time brings into play the Fiddle Theory, which states: The longer you fiddle around with a deal, the greater the odds that it will never close.

When you deal with sick minds, never waste time trying to become a healer. The most humane act you can perform for such a person is to state things in such a way that it will make him feel better about how things work out—especially if it involves your getting paid. After all, you can cause him a great deal of stress if you allow him to believe that he might actually be paying you what he owes you.

Never state, in an agreement, what you want out of the deal before stating what the other party is going to get, because the other guy doesn't give a hoot about what you want. All he's interested in is what's in it for him. This is especially true of people who insist that "in order for a deal to work out, everyone has to be satisfied." Forget such babble; it's a fairy tale that will only cause you to drop your guard and lose some fingers in the process.)

I call this second phenomenon the Better-Deal Theory, which states: Before a person closes a deal, it's human nature for him to worry that there may be a better deal down the road.

I also vowed that if someone refused to sign a commission agreement with me in the future—regardless of the reason—I would assume that he was a Type Number Two and walk away from the deal.

Compromise is the best and cheapest lawyer.

The clash was unsatisfactory to everybody. Therefore, the pragmatist claimed, we must reach a livable compromise. This approach puts the pragmatist on the side of the aggressor, though they don't advocate aggression. As a criticism of pragmatism, you can say that it is totally amoral, and every amoral system is on the side of the immoral. But the pragmatist is impersonal about force. Someone wants to bash your skull in, reach a livable compromise: tell him to break one leg. [NFW 69]

I offered the sellers what they were asking for, which was $35,000 down and they would carry the $300,000 at 8 percent interest for five years. It was such a great deal that I could not pass it up.

We spoke the words bankers wanted to hear. Our numbers were clear, and we included our track record with our five other properties.

Ask the seller to throw in a boat or pay your down payment for you. It becomes fun, once you learn the game.

If two people stare at each other for more than a few seconds, it means they are about to either make love or fight. Something similar might be said about human societies. If two nearby societies are in contact for any length of time, they will either trade or fight. The first is non-zero-sum social integration, and the second ultimately brings it.

It takes two to have a fight.

the British Government became determined that when victory came they should be in a position to impose terms, not only on the defeated enemy, but also on their victorious allies.