Order out of Chaos

CHAPTER TWO Preparing to Win Every Negotiation

There is a well-known saying that, in a crisis, most of us don’t rise to the occasion, but rather fall to our highest level of preparation. It is also well understood that no matter what you do to prepare, other people will often fail to do what you expect them to, and therefore things are likely to not go according to plan. This usually takes people by surprise in a negotiation, because they’re approaching it with a fixed mindset, rather than one of curiosity, agility, and a desire to truly understand the other person’s “model of the world”—how and what they see, interpret, and give meaning to.

While having this approach is fundamental to succeeding in any negotiation, it won’t be enough by ...