Average Rating: 
Rating:  - A Great Way to Overcome Communications Stalls
In virtually all circumstances where people are working together, they come to agreement in ways that short-change the interests of everyone involved. This landmark book shows practical ways to find out what other people want, and to devise better alternatives that create a "win" for everyone. The authors do a great job of overcoming the preconception that many hold that working on problems means that you have to be unpleasant. The advice to be hard on the problems and easy on the people (building a relationship) is a key concept that everyone can use. I have found this book to be one of the most helpful that I have every read, and I cite its lessons in my own book. I recently had a chance to use these principles in a negotiating workshop with veteran negotiators, and I was struck by how few people apply the lessons of GETTING TO YES. You will vastly improve your life if you read and practice the ideas in GETTING TO YES.
Rating: - I tried it and it really worked!
Overall, I like this book a lot and I found it very useful.Actually I didn't read through the whole book. Yet I did capture the key point of the book - 'Don't bargain over positions'. Then I used this principle-based negotiation in real life. For instance, when I am facing a challenge from my partner on my proposal, I won't fight back directly. I will first seek for the mutual interest, a common ground. Then I'll explain why I think my proposal can help achieve the mutual interest. Then I ask the opposing partner what he/she think and whether he/she wants to share any better proposal to achieve this mutual interest. If my/mutual interest can be satisfied, yet my partner has a better way to do it, then why not change my own proposal? I tried this approach several times and they all worked out pretty well. Most of the times I successfully convinced my partner without damaging relationship. A few times I changed my position yet I was still happy because I still had my interest satisfied. Net, this book is really useful and recommend to BUY for everyone.
Rating: - Essential reading
This is the first book I've read on the issue of negotiation. The book is easy to read, and the authors use good, solid examples to illustrate the techniques they are teaching. The end of the book, with it's summary review, really pulls it all together. The writing style is clean, clear, and simple, without being so simplistic as to seem unbelieveable.The authors try to show readers how to remain objective in negotiations, rather than letting their emotions take control. The speak of being "soft on people and hard on principles", the idea of staying focussed on the problem and not attacking or blaming people. The parts I found most useful are the notions of focussing on interests rather than positions, and finding alternatives that will allow both parties in the negotiation to gain something. The idea of moving away from positions to finding the common ground of shared interests is one that is particularly useful in that it can be applied to any situation, be it a parent/child conflict, a work situation, or any negotiation. This concept shows readers how to focus on their long term goals rather than on being "right" and winning in the short term. I have used the techniques in this book to great success many times, in a variety of areas in my life. They are easy to use, and they work! I highly reccommend this classic text to everyone.
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