Customer Reviews

Negotiate This!

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I first heard, and heard of, Herb Cohen on the radio when Don Imus interviewed him one morning this past year. He sounded like a late great-uncle of mine: mild-mannered and self-effacing, with an endearing Yiddish-inflected speech pattern. (And the photo on the dust jacket reinforced this connection for me, although there's no facial resemblance.) But this "average schlub" -- my phrase, not his -- has been at the helm of some of the world's most tension-fraught negotiations in the last several decades. When you read "Negotiate This!", you can see why.

Most of my praise for this book would merely echo that left by others, but I did want to touch on two matters. To answer the two or three people who panned it: This isn't an instruction manual, nor is it meant to be, any more than a Zen ko'an is a detailed instruction on how to live life along the lines of shari'a. In fact, the title of this review typed above would have been a great alternative title for the book. If you want blow-by-blow instructions and nothing else, check out his earlier books or those written by others. This book tells you not only the *what*, but the *why* -- and is highly entertaining, too.

I noticed that only one other reviewer went into detail about Cohen's having tried to negotiate the Iranian hostage crisis on behalf of ex-president Jimmy Carter, or his experience in high-profile, high-stakes international negotiations in general. I think those in and of themselves are reason enough to read the book, even if you don't feel you could stand to brush up on your negotiating skills (though I can't imagine anyone who couldn't use a little such fine-tuning). As the other reviewer remarked, Cohen predicted long, long ago that we'd be having much more trouble with that part of the world in the future.

Needless to say, he was right. And his attempts to solve the hostage crisis were frustrated at every turn because "Dhimmi" Carter refused to play the game, out of both a pathological sense of "honor" -- Cohen doesn't use this word, but I got the sense that Carter considered hard-nosed wheeling and dealing beneath his dignity -- and his delusion that because the mullahs were of an "Abrahamic faith," we could appeal to their "better nature" (my phrase) rather than bargain as if we were in a souk or bazaar, as they expected us to all along. Cohen's version of the story echoes the frustrations of many of us today who see others in the West grossly underestimating the threat posed to us by Wahhabi Islam.

Given some of the detailed comments of other reviewers, I won't go into too much detail in my review. However, it needs to be pointed out that Mr. Cohen applied his theories for negotiating to his book with quite a lot of success, to the point where you are convinced of what he's telling you. I want to clarify that I do not disagree with his strategies for negotiating: indeed, I think they work so well, it is hard to distance yourself from the book enough, to the point where you can realize that Cohen is a master at getting (most) people into buying into his ideas.

All in all, this is a book I highly recommend for readers of all types: the MBA type who's going through a Negotiation class, the manager who faces a tough face-to-face with someone (s)he needs to convince, the mother or the father who needs to talk the kids into something, or simply the casual reader "passing by" who feels like having a good time flying through the pages of this highly enjoyable and very useful book by one of the world's most respected negotiators. Otherwise, you can imagine how tough it can be to receive praise such as the one printed on the book's backcover, from the likes of Donald Trump, Mario Cuomo and Larry King.

Herb Cohen has given us an impressive book that is lively and readable. It's filled with realistic and amusing anecdotes that make his points come alive. Not only is this the best book ever written about negotiating but decades from now it will be regarded as a classic in psychology, sociology and the human condition. On the scale of 1 through5, "Negotiate This" is a six.

Maybe Herb drifts around so much with this book because he cares about getting his point across... but not that much. Maybe he wants to show examples of caring but not that much in the way he writes his book.

Herb Cohen's YOU CAN NEGOTIATE ANYTHING is my all-time
favorite book on negotiations . . . I still recommend it as the
absolute best book ever written on the subject.

Amazingly, that book was written in 1980 and Cohen did not
write a follow-up until now . . . as he notes in the Acknowledgments to his latest effort, NEGOTIATE THIS!, "This book has been incubating in me for some time. To be sure, if you believe in the academic axiom, 'publish or perish,' I would be long dead."

Fortunately, that is not the case. Cohen lives, and that's a great thing because NEGOTIATE THIS! is a worthy successor to his earlier effort . . . it is filled with useful examples and practical advice that is applicable to virtually any negotiation.

In fact, that is one of the real strengths of the book; i.e., it will be useful to a wide range of folks--salespeople, diplomats, even parents. (A whole chapter is devoted to them!)

The key is to keep in mind the subtitle to NEGOTIATE THIS! . . . you can succeed BY CARING, BUT NOT T-H-A-T MUCH.

There were several memorable passages; among them:
* Basically, there is a twofold explanation for why we often do not achieve our potential as negotiators. One, as we've seen, is that we are too emotionally involved, caring too much. The second reason is that we have too much authority. What I'm saying is that the last person who should negotiate for a country, corporation, or business is the chief executive officer. Take that one step further and realize that the worst person to negotiate for you is-you. Clearly this presents
a practical problem that can be solved by limiting your own authority. Always give yourself room to say, "That sounds good to me but I'll have to check with my board." If you don't have a board, then substitute the word banker, attorney, adviser, boss, or even spouse.

* What is really happening? This experienced salesman was merely
playing the game. He knew that offers that come from the side of
the mouth in soft tones have 37 percent more credibility that those made in a normal fashion.

* Years ago, when I was first employed by a particular government
agency, they asked for my fee schedule. At the time, I really wanted this assignment, but we both knew there was no way they could afford my regular price.

Then, during a face-to-face meeting, I said, "Honestly, I want to work with you on this. Since I trust you 100 percent, I know you'll get me as much money as you can. Whatever that amount is, I'll still do it."

Two months later when I arrived at their headquarters, I learned
from a third party that my negotiating partner had spent endless
time and energy looking for ways to increase my fee. Finally, he
had to go into the next year's budget for additional funds.

Compared to "You Can Negotiate Anything", there is nothing new here. While "You Can Negotiate Anything" is a very ordinary book itself (way overrated in my opinion) this is an absolute waste of time!

Rich on "anecdotes" but short on substance. Lots of irrelevant rumble, too. This book will NOT teach you how to negotiate.

Can you teach an old dog new tricks? No, judging by how much the author learned in two or so decades from the release of the first book. He simply uses his name as a brand so people will buy the second book hoping for a revelation or negotiating miracle that will transform them into good negotiators overnight. No miracles of any sort here - the only miracle is that people are buying this book in large numbers!

I bough this book and, luckily, managed to sell it on e-bay straight away. You may not be so lucky! Stay away!

This book is garbage. 95% of the time while reading this book I was asking myself "what does THIS have to do with negotiating?" The book is basically a bunch of boring personal stories and bible thumping with tiny, generic, and usually useless pieces of negotiating "advice" every once in a while. (...). Fortunately there are many great negotiating books, but this certainly isn't one of them. Save your money.

Okay. I know everyone so far has given this new book of Cohen's five stars. He is an excellent writer and great negotiator and I've enjoyed his previous books and gotten a lot from them. I found this one shallow and off-track. His previous book was much better and deeper.

There was a lot in this book from his previous one. In fact, word for word. And that's okay. But there just wasn't enough new stuff to make this worth the investment.

Susanna K. Hutcheson
Owner & Executive Copy Director
Powerwriting.com LLC

Not only his ideas and insightfulness of people is helpful for everyone, he's also a good writer that I couldn't put the book down. I really enjoyed the book and ordered another book of his. It's something that I want my wife to read and my children as well. It's THAT good.

I read "Negotiate This! By Caring But Not T-H-A-T Much over a weekend and found myself constantly smiling and laughing out loud. Afterwards upon reflection, I realized that this is a serious and profound work about human behavior. what the author has done is give us another lens or dimension through which to understand and predict human beings and their behavior. It's an empowering work that I would highly recommend.