Learn the Art of Logic and Persuasion (Collection)

Truth 39. Negotiating via email and the Internet

Mark Zuckerberg wishes he had not conducted a major negotiation via email with Paul Ceglia, an early investor in the Facebook startup, in 2003. In one of the email exchanges, Zuckerberg challenged the status of their agreement and suggested that they should enact a 50–50 partnership. Years later, Zuckerberg claimed that the emails were fake. However, you don’t have to be a dot-com millionaire to enter into an e-negotiation that starts to unravel.

Flight attendant Billy Makedonsky was pleased with himself when he negotiated the purchase of the “perfect retirement home” for his 75-year-old mother with just a few mouse clicks. But it turned out the property was immersed in multiple bankruptcies, had ...