Leadership and Decision-Making: Empowering Better Decisions
Harvard’s Don Moore and Max Bazerman argue that leadership is less about steering a ship and more about designing decision environments that empower every employee. Their book *Decision Leadership* stresses ethical norms, incentives, and nudges as core tools for shaping behavior, citing failures at WeWork, Theranos, and Uber as cautionary tales. The authors also champion systematic experimentation—like Google’s large‑scale tests—to replace intuition with data‑driven learning. Ultimately, they envision a shift from autocratic control toward collective, ethically grounded decision‑making.
What Leads to Renegotiation?
Renegotiation typically stems from imperfect contracts or changed circumstances. The article outlines three reasons contracts fall short—limited foresight, cost constraints, and uncertain judicial interpretation—and cites market shifts like price drops or new technology as triggers. It then offers pre‑emptive and...
A Negotiation Preparation Checklist
Harvard's Program on Negotiation releases a comprehensive 32‑item checklist to help professionals prepare for business negotiations. The guide walks users through self‑assessment, BATNA analysis, counterpart research, logistical planning, and ethical considerations. It emphasizes defining goals, reservation points, and zones of...
Using E-Mediation and Online Mediation Techniques for Conflict Resolution
Online mediation, first offered by start‑ups in the late 1990s, has become a global service used for e‑commerce, workplace and family disputes. Most platforms rely on email and telephone, with video and real‑time chat still uncommon. Research shows the slower...
Power in Negotiation: How Effective Negotiators Project Power at the Negotiation Table
Effective negotiators draw power from three distinct sources— a strong BATNA, role power, and psychological power. Research by Galinsky and Magee demonstrates that each source independently boosts bargaining leverage, while their combination produces the strongest outcomes. The article advises professionals...
4 Sales Negotiation Traps—And How to Overcome Them
The Program on Negotiation outlines four common sales‑negotiation traps: overvaluing assets due to the endowment effect, fixating on price alone, compromising ethical standards, and presenting offers in a loss‑oriented frame. It recommends third‑party appraisals, expanding the deal scope beyond price,...
An Example of the Anchoring Effect – What to Share in Negotiation
The article explains how sharing information in negotiations can trigger the anchoring effect, potentially locking the other party into an unintended position. It advises negotiators to disclose interests and priorities strategically, emphasizing reciprocity while avoiding over‑exposure of sensitive data. Legal...
What Makes a Good Mediator?
A survey of veteran mediators conducted by Northwestern law professor Stephen Goldberg finds that establishing genuine rapport outweighs the use of specific mediation techniques in driving successful outcomes. Respondents stress that parties must feel understood before they will disclose interests...
Settling Out of Court: Negotiating in the Shadow of the Law
The article explains why parties often overlook the hidden costs of litigation and how settling out of court can preserve resources and relationships. It outlines transaction costs, lack of cooperation, and relationship damage as primary drawbacks of going to trial....
Using Body Language in Negotiation
The article explains how non‑verbal cues shape negotiation outcomes, urging face‑to‑face meetings over virtual calls. It highlights three core scenarios: natural mimicry that builds rapport, the risk of misreading visual trust signals, and the difficulty of masking micro‑expressions. Research from...
Deal-Making Don’ts: Lessons From Yahoo’s Tumblr Acquisition
In May 2013 Yahoo announced a $1.1 billion cash purchase of Tumblr, hoping the youthful platform would revive its stagnant revenue stream. The acquisition quickly unraveled; by August 2019 Yahoo’s successor sold Tumblr for a mere $3 million. The deal was negotiated...
Negotiation Analysis: The US, Taliban, and the Bergdahl Exchange
The United States negotiated a prisoner swap that returned Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl after five years of Taliban captivity in exchange for five senior Taliban detainees held at Guantanamo. Qatar acted as the principal mediator, while the Afghan government was largely...
Dealing with Difficult Employees—Or Burnout?
Managers are increasingly mistaking burnout symptoms for "difficult" behavior, as a Forbes‑cited survey shows 66% of U.S. workers—and up to 83% of younger staff—report chronic exhaustion. Harvard researchers Eva Buechel and Elisa Solinas demonstrate that psychological detachment improves mood, reduces...
Negotiation Team Strategy
Negotiation teams are increasingly essential as deals grow in complexity, creativity, and stakeholder breadth, especially in international contexts. Harvard’s Program on Negotiation cites research showing that teams outperform solo negotiators in information exchange, judgment accuracy, and final outcomes. Effective teams...
Cognitive Biases in Negotiation and Conflict Resolution – Common Negotiation Mistakes
The article highlights how judges, like all decision‑makers, are vulnerable to cognitive biases that can skew legal outcomes. Research spanning 45,000 district‑court rulings from 1933‑1987 shows clear partisan patterns: Democratic appointees issued liberal decisions 48% of the time, while Republican...