The Deal Whisperers

“Mr. Gitou, the last time we spoke you said one of the problems women have in negotiating is they focus too much on the relationship,” said...

“Ty Gitou?” A young woman stood in the doorway of Tyler’s office. Tyler came out from behind his desk to greet her. “Yes, hello. I am T...

Tyler Gitou drew three interlocking circles on a sheet of paper. In one he wrote “Credibility” in another he wrote “Reliability” and in the ...

“Five, six, seven…” Verdi was counting as he looked over a list. Tyler Gitou stopped in the hall as he passed Verdi’s office. “What are y...

“OK,” Verdi said. “I understand. One of the big mistakes around the negotiation our government just had over the national debt was the failu...

Verdi had never looked worse. Tyler Gitou found him cowering in a corner booth of a restaurant hanging onto a cocktail. His hands were sh...

Tyler Gitou was having lunch with Kevin Del Clinchy, a salesman for a large software company. “How is your deal with Great Works going so fa...

“So you mentioned that a new executive unexpectedly joined the other party’s negotiation team,” Tyler Gitou said to Verdi. “How did that hap...

“I can’t believe what just happened!” Verdi sputtered, red-faced. “We were meeting with the client to close out some of these tough issues. ...

“Now that I understand how to think about my BATNA and the client’s BATNA, what do I do with the analysis?” Verdi asked Tyler Gitou. “Be car...

“I am very intrigued by this concept of BATNA you raised the other day,” Verdi said to Tyler Gitou. “Can you explain to me how I would use i...

Verdi was having a cup of coffee with Tyler Gitou. “You may recall we had a meeting with my client where we proposed a best and final price ...

“Last time we met I agreed to work with you on a Trust Action Plan,” Tyler Gitou said to Verdi. “Sit down and let’s talk.” Tyler took out a ...

Tyler Gitou stood at the front of the conference room pointing to a list of the client’s executives. “Does this list accurately reflect all ...

Verdi’s face was bright red as he walked into Tyler Gitou’s office. Tyler suppressed a smile and calmly said, “You look a little upset.” “Ah...

“We had our meeting with the client,” Verdi said to Tyler Gitou. “As you suggested, I provided him the two options.” “Let me make sure I und...

“We said we would deliver the components for $1 million,” Verdi said to Tyler Gitou. “They came back and said if we don’t lower our price by...

“I’m afraid that’s the end of our hour together,” Peter said to Tyler Gitou. “If you could get back to me on those points by tomorrow, I’d a...

Tyler Gitou was sitting in his office when Verdi walked in and flopped into a chair. “How are the negotiations going, Verdi?” Tyler asked. “...

Tyler Gitou was listening to Rose, a member of the other party’s deal team, respond to a proposal Tyler had just made. He asked a question t...

Imagine you and a friend are sitting in a restaurant. Someone walks up to you and hands you each $100. Pretty nice, huh? You just went out t...

A monk was trying to meditate in the temple with several students. He was distracted by the squawk of a bird in the room. He asked one of th...

Our language is full of conflicting adages: “He who hesitates is lost” as opposed to “Look before you leap”. “A penny saved is a penny earne...

Nobody likes being wrong. In fact, some people have so much trouble admitting they are wrong that they will perform acrobatic feats of ratio...

Ricky was sitting across the desk from a car salesman, and Ricky appeared troubled. He had spent the last two hours negotiating for a new mi...

Did you ever have a negotiation that couldn’t seem to find its legs? You meet with the other party several times and their requests always s...

We failed. We don’t have the money. There’s been an accident. These opening lines are not the ideal way to start a meeting. Yet sometimes, d...

The most frequent answer people provide when asked what they don’t like about negotiations is: “I don’t like confrontation.” Though understa...

Difficult negotiators often bring a lot of emotion to the table: bluster; frustration; accusations. Such behavior can make discussions ineff...

Want to improve your relationship with a business partner? Try this exercise with your negotiation team: List five adjectives to describe wh...