Employment Negotiations: To Poach or Not to Poach?
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is personally courting OpenAI engineers for his new Meta Superintelligence Labs, reportedly extending compensation packages as high as $300 million over four years. OpenAI has responded with counteroffers, including signing bonuses up to $100 million and expanded responsibilities, to retain key staff. The poaching battle highlights the broader legal backdrop: U.S. antitrust law prohibits no‑poach agreements among rivals, yet aggressive talent raids can still trigger retaliation. Industry observers warn that hiring star talent without cultural integration may undermine long‑term innovation.
The Star Wars Negotiations and Trust at the Negotiation Table
In October 2012 Disney announced a $4.05 billion acquisition of Lucasfilm, split evenly between cash and stock, after a year‑and‑a‑half of direct negotiations with founder George Lucas. CEO Robert Iger personally led the talks, using trust‑building tactics such as high‑level involvement, patience, and...
How to Deal with Threats: 4 Negotiation Tips for Managing Conflict at the Bargaining Table
Negotiators frequently encounter threats—walk‑away warnings, lawsuits, or reputation attacks—that can derail talks. The Harvard Program on Negotiation recommends the DEAL framework: Diagnose the threat, Express understanding, Ask probing questions, and Label the behavior. By pausing, assessing motives, and responding strategically,...
Ripeness Theory in Dispute Resolution: Seizing the Day
The Minnesota Orchestra faced a financial crisis in 2012, prompting CEO Michael Henson to propose a 32% salary cut for musicians, from $113,000 to $78,000. Musicians rejected the offer, leading to a lockout that lasted over a year and the...
Directive Leadership: When It Does—And Doesn’t—Work
Directive leadership, often viewed as outdated, remains valuable in contexts demanding clear guidance and rapid decisions. Research from the 1970s to recent studies shows it excels when tasks are ambiguous or crises familiar, delivering faster, more accurate outcomes. However, the...
Dealing with Challenging Negotiators
Harvard’s Program on Negotiation synthesizes recent research on handling tough counterparts. A study shows mixed‑motive pairs—one competitive, one cooperative—outperform pure cooperatives in profit and long‑term relationship metrics. Separate experiments reveal that insincere negotiators use stalling tactics and that sellers who...
Negotiating a Salary When Compensation Is Public
Recent pay‑transparency legislation in New York City, Colorado and upcoming rules in California and Washington now require employers to disclose salary ranges in job postings. Major firms such as Citigroup, American Express, Amazon and Zillow have already begun posting minimum...
Contract Negotiations and Business Communication: How to Write an Iron-Clad Contract
The article explains why negotiators must grasp basic contract law to avoid costly misunderstandings. It illustrates the risk with a case where Jane edited a supply agreement by fax, leading Kevin to dispute the changes. The piece highlights the mirror‑image...
Learning From Ethical Leadership Failures at Boeing
Boeing’s recent safety crises—including a 2024 737 MAX fuselage panel failure and the Starliner astronaut stranding—have reignited scrutiny of its ethical leadership. Reporter Andy Pasztor links these events to a decades‑long pattern of corporate misconduct, from Pentagon document theft to quality‑control...
How Mediation Can Help Resolve Pro Sports Disputes
Professor Mark Grabowski argues that mediation is underused in U.S. professional sports, despite its success in past NHL and NFL labor disputes. He cites the 2012 NHL‑PA negotiation, where a federal mediator helped bridge a $200 million revenue‑sharing gap, and the...
Leveraging the Power of Emotions as You Negotiate
Harvard’s Program on Negotiation is offering a one‑day workshop on September 25, 2026, led by negotiation scholar Daniel L. Shapiro. The course teaches participants how to harness emotions as strategic assets rather than liabilities in any bargaining scenario, from labor contracts to...
How to Manage Difficult Staff: Gen Z Edition
A June 2023 ResumeBuilder.com survey of 1,344 managers found 74% consider Gen Z employees more difficult to work with than older colleagues, with 49% reporting frequent challenges. Managers blame perceived gaps in technology proficiency (39%), effort (37%) and motivation (37%). The...
Dispute Resolution Case Study: Conflict on the High Seas
In 2018 a heated dispute erupted between French and British scallop fishermen in the English Channel, culminating in a physical clash where roughly 35 French boats confronted five British vessels. The conflict stemmed from divergent national fishing rules—France bans scallop...
Make Job Negotiations Fairer in Your Organization
Harvard Kennedy School professors Iris Bohnet and Siri Chilazi argue that short‑term DEI training alone won’t fix inequitable job negotiations. They advocate systemic, behavioral‑design solutions such as anonymized applications, structured interviews, and algorithmic tools to curb bias. The authors cite blind auditions...
Teaching Contract Negotiation: Using the Mutual Gains Approach
The Program on Negotiation’s Teaching Negotiation Resource Center (TNRC) offers a suite of contract‑negotiation simulations that teach the mutual‑gains approach, moving participants away from positional bargaining. Featured exercises include the GE International Contract, Flagship Airways restructuring, and Ad Sales, Inc....
How to Counter a Job Offer: Avoid Common Mistakes
Receiving a job offer is exciting, but jumping to acceptance can cost you future earnings. The article outlines three common pitfalls: accepting too quickly, fixating solely on salary, and failing to justify counter‑offers. It advises candidates to request time, consider...
Notable Business Negotiations of 2024
2024 proved a paradoxical year for corporate negotiations: overall deal activity slowed, with M&A volume dropping 18% while total dollar value rose 9% to $3 trillion. High‑profile negotiations spanned sectors, from Google’s antitrust‑driven Android app‑store opening and Amazon’s $12 billion AI partnership...
Ask A Negotiation Expert: The Surprising Benefits of Negotiating with Your Kids
Terri R. Kurtzberg and Mary C. Kern argue that parents should treat negotiations with children as a problem‑solving tool rather than a power play. By seeking a child’s perspective and planning questions, parents can secure genuine buy‑in, leading to stronger...
AI Negotiation in the News
OpenAI has become the focal point of multiple AI‑negotiation disputes, ranging from high‑profile copyright lawsuits by fiction authors and the New York Times to an internal board crisis that saw CEO Sam Altman ousted and reinstated. The legal actions allege that OpenAI...
Charismatic Leadership: Weighing the Pros and Cons
Charismatic leadership, epitomized by figures like Jack Welch and Steve Jobs, once dominated corporate culture as the gold standard for driving vision and loyalty. Recent research shows its effectiveness peaks near average charisma levels, with overly charismatic leaders often perceived...
In Contract Negotiations, Agree on How You’ll Disagree
The article urges negotiators to embed dispute‑resolution mechanisms directly into contracts, outlining five practical measures: an ADR clause, liquidated damages, dispute‑prevention provisions, contingent agreements, and a hybrid of prevention and contingency. By anticipating disagreements early, parties can steer conflicts toward...
Salary Negotiation Strategies From Everyday Experts
A recent study by researchers at Dortmund University examined which salary‑negotiation tactics women are most likely to adopt. The experiment asked over 100 participants to pick a single strategy from seven options, revealing that more than half chose to request...
Mediation Training: What Can You Expect?
Mediation training is gaining traction as organizations seek faster, cheaper ways to resolve workplace disputes. By teaching managers and team members basic facilitation skills, companies can address conflicts early, before they require formal arbitration or litigation. The article outlines a...
Successes & Messes: A Notoriously Bad Business Contract
In 1999 No Limit Sports, founded by rapper Master P, negotiated a seven‑year, $68 million contract for rookie running back Ricky Williams that relied heavily on unrealistic incentives. The deal capped annual incentive earnings at $500,000 and included 26 milestones—many virtually unattainable—leaving Williams...
BATNA and Other Sources of Power at the Negotiation Table
Negotiation researchers Adam Galinsky and Joe Magee identify three core sources of power at the bargaining table: a strong BATNA, role‑based authority, and psychological confidence. A robust BATNA provides viable alternatives, enabling negotiators to walk away from unfavorable offers. Role...
10 Real-World Negotiation Examples
The Program on Negotiation article surveys ten high‑profile negotiation cases, ranging from the 2012 mortgage‑foreclosure settlement and Disney’s $4.05 billion Lucasfilm acquisition to pandemic‑era PPE scramble and the 2022 Western sanctions on Russia. Each example illustrates distinct tactics—multilateral bargaining, trust‑based deals,...
The Negotiator’s Dilemma: How MESOs Help You Create and Claim Value
The article explains the negotiator’s dilemma—the tension between creating and claiming value—and presents multiple equivalent simultaneous offers (MESOs) as a solution. MESOs involve presenting two to three equally valued packages that vary across issues, allowing negotiators to anchor discussions while...
Anchoring Bias in Negotiation: Should You Make a Single Offer or a Range?
The article examines how anchoring bias shapes negotiation outcomes and whether a single price or a price range is more effective. Research by Ames and Mason shows that a "bolstering" range—where the high end exceeds the target price—produces larger concessions...
What Hostage Negotiations Can Teach Business Negotiators
Hostage negotiators achieve a 94% success rate, far higher than typical business negotiations. George A. Kohlrieser, a former police psychologist and IMD professor, explains that the key lies in building an emotional connection and leveraging the “person effect.” He advises...
The First-Offer Dilemma in Negotiations: Should You Make the First Offer?
Negotiators have long debated whether to make the first offer, balancing the risk of revealing information against the power of anchoring. Recent research shows that making the first offer typically yields better economic outcomes but also raises anxiety and lowers...
How to Deal with Cultural Differences in Negotiation
Cross‑cultural negotiations often stumble over differing communication norms, but understanding the dignity‑face‑honor framework can turn cultural variance into a strategic advantage. Researchers identify three prototypes—dignity (e.g., US, Canada), face (East Asia), and honor (Middle East, Latin America)—shaped by historical population...
Is Humor in Business Negotiation Ever Appropriate?
Harvard Business School professor Alison Wood Brooks explains that humor, when used strategically, can shift emotional tone, build trust, and improve negotiation outcomes. Research shows jokes that elicit genuine laughter signal confidence, competence, and higher status, while also fostering creativity...
Streaming Toward Win-Win Negotiation: Spotify Upgrades Its Negotiating Strategy
Spotify has shifted from confrontational royalty disputes to collaborative negotiations, exemplified by its 2023 royalty framework overhaul. The new model introduces a 1,000‑stream annual threshold, fraud penalties, and length requirements for non‑musical tracks, aiming to curb AI‑generated and low‑value content....
Why Negotiations Fail
Negotiations often fail for reasons beyond a dramatic impasse, including agreements that later cause regret, deals that crumble during execution, and partnerships that underperform despite being signed. The article outlines three failure modes: walking away from a better deal due...
Negotiation Skills: Which Negotiating Style Is Best?
The article contends that no single negotiating style dominates; research shows cooperative negotiators consistently produce more creative, value‑creating outcomes and report higher satisfaction. However, pure cooperation can leave value on the table, while aggressive hard‑bargaining risks relationships. The most effective...