Relationships & communication

Getting to Yes

Roger Fisher, William Ury and Bruce Patton

How to negotiate agreement without giving in, by being hard on the problem and soft on the people

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  • 11 key ideas
  • Text
  • Published 1981

Introduction

Getting to Yes, written by members of the Harvard Negotiation Project, is a short guide to reaching agreement without either giving in or fighting. Roger Fisher and William Ury, later joined by Bruce Patton, argue that most people bargain over positions, taking a stand and then trading concessions, and that this produces poor agreements, wastes time and harms relationships. In its place they offer "principled negotiation", which is hard on the merits and soft on the people.

The book has five parts. Part I, The Problem, shows what goes wrong when people bargain over positions. Part II, The Method, sets out four principles: separate the people from the problem; focus on interests, not positions; invent options for mutual gain; and insist on using objective criteria. Part III, "Yes, But...", answers three common doubts: what if the other side is more powerful, what if they won't play, and what if they use dirty tricks. Part IV is a short conclusion. Part V, "Ten Questions People Ask", added in the second edition, is not covered in this summary. This summary follows the third edition of 2011.

  1. 1The authors argue that bargaining over positions, the way most people negotiate, produces unwise agreements, wastes time and harms relationships
  2. 2Being nice is no answer either; the authors propose to change the game with principled negotiation, built on four points
  3. 3The first point is to separate the people from the problem, starting with perception: the conflict lies in how each side sees things, so learn to see them their way
  4. 4Emotion and communication are the other two parts of the people problem: acknowledge feelings, let the other side let off steam, and listen actively
  5. 5The second point is to focus on interests, not positions, because behind opposed positions lie shared and compatible interests as well as conflicting ones
  6. 6The third point is to invent options for mutual gain, and the key is to separate inventing from deciding
  7. 7Look for mutual gain: shared interests are opportunities, differences can be dovetailed, and the other side's decision should be made easy
  8. 8The fourth point is to insist on objective criteria, so that neither side has to give in to the other's will
  9. 9If the other side is more powerful, the authors say, know and improve your BATNA, your best alternative to a negotiated agreement
  10. 10If they will not play, use negotiation jujitsu: do not push back, but turn their attacks toward the problem, or bring in the one-text procedure
  11. 11Against dirty tricks, recognize the tactic, name it, and negotiate about the rules of the game with the same four principles

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Getting to Yes: summary | Daridanesh