Your Own Terms

1Empower Yourself

This is not a book about how to become a barracuda at the bargaining table. It’s definitely not a book about how to negotiate more like a man, or how to win by making others lose face or power. It is a book about leveraging those feminine strengths, such as nurturing and collaboration, that all people, men and women, respond to positively.

We women frequently feel like we’re placed in a no-win situation before a negotiation even begins. If we make concessions to further the deal, we’re viewed as weak; but if we go in strong for what we want, we’re called unflattering names that often begin with “b.” Either way, professional working relationships sustain damage. Where’s the middle ground?

I live and work in the middle ground. ...