Negotiating Win-Win Business Deals

Few things have more impact on the long-term success of your business than your ability to negotiate successful deals with customers, suppliers, bankers and other key constituencies. Yet most CEOs leave too much money on the table during their most important business deals. Why? Because they usually take the wrong approach to the negotiating process.

Rather than approaching negotiations as a mutual problem-solving process, most CEOs see it as a kind of mental and verbal sparring session, where the side with the sharpest mind, toughest resolve and most aggressive tactics emerges as the victor. Such an approach invariably leads to win-lose or, worse, lose-lose outcomes, and their companies suffer in the long run.