The Deal Whisperers

It is, by far, the teaser that makes me smile most: anything claiming to be a “secret” which is published in a news article, book or on...

When I was considering working with a financial planner some years ago, I identified three of the top money managers in my network and as...

Being a dealmaker for almost 30 (!) years now, I have received, displayed, broken, and discarded many mementos of the deals I have worked...

We all suffer from the challenge of “preception.” This is the condition where we make up our minds about something by placing what we see...

Yes, it’s that time of year again when boys and girls all over the world anxiously await the arrival of that special person in the suit wh...

Imagine a multi-billion dollar industry that invests millions to get the best people, establish a respected brand and deliver a product t...

Sooner or later, you will be talking about price. Despite all of the effort we put into crafting just the solution the client needs; ...

Sometimes a negotiation needs an agreement to get started. Not a big agreement. Just something that the parties acknowledge works for...

I am a car-buying junkie. I am not hooked on cars themselves (though I was a bit of a gearhead in college). I am, however, hooked on the ...

Sometimes a client is not making a request, they are posing a test. We were pursuing a $30 million systems integration deal with a lo...

Some people don’t recognize gold when they see it. Not gold in the sense of the precious metal. I mean something rare that others gre...

I am never surprised to find a business executive who is a terrible negotiator. I am, however, surprised when a business person admits th...

Years ago, there was an interview with a NASA astronaut in which he was asked, “What would you do if you were in danger of destruction...

A young colleague and I were in a ride-share, heading into New York, and we began discussing the deal we were working on. Tyler was a...

There is an old joke that asks: Why did they name the game “golf”? Because all of the other four letter words were taken. If you ...

I once negotiated for two weeks on the word “capital.” Not because people were being difficult. It’s because we were not explaining ourse...

I began my professional career as newspaper reporter, so I have always seen words as powerful tools of influence. The adage, “The pen...

There are several ways to join two pieces of wood together. A hammer and a nail is one way. A screw and a screwdriver is another. Yo...

I was in Times Square last week and, while walking down 42 nd Street, I passed a young man hawking discount tickets to one of the area’s...

“We’re glad you’re here. We need a tough negotiator.” I have heard that opening line a few times in my career and, frankly, I don’t k...

This weekend the men’s NCAA basketball championships semi-finals will feature an improbably entry, much to the delight of millions of fan...

I can’t remember the first time I heard someone say it, but I have heard it dozens of times since then: a bad deal is like a bad marriag...