Managing difficult employees is one of the biggest challenges that leaders face. When employees seem unreasonable, belligerent, or uncooperative, managers may be tempted either to brush aside the problem or, alternatively, to fly off the handle.
A better solution when managing difficult staff? Use negotiation techniques to get to the root of underlying problems. The following … Read Managing Difficult Employees: Listening to Learn 
douglas stone
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Unlocking Value in Complex Business Deals
Bonus day for December Negotiation and Leadership program.
Gain the strategies, tools, and frameworks you need to manage difficult conversations effectively in this program led by negotiation experts Sheila Heen and Douglas Stone.
… Read Unlocking Value in Complex Business Deals
Negotiation and Leadership Spring 2025 Program Guide
It’s often said that great leaders are great negotiators. But how does one become an effective negotiator? On-the-job experience certainly plays a role, but for most executives, taking their negotiation skills to the next level requires outside training.
… Read More
Learning from Feedback without Losing Your Mind
During the coronavirus pandemic, you might have gotten a lot of feedback, whether from the new “coworkers” in your home, the boss you only see in video meetings, or strangers critical of your social-distancing practices. You can begin learning from feedback, though. Instead of retreating after receiving feedback, open up a conversation, Heen and Stone … Read Learning from Feedback without Losing Your Mind
Negotiating When Parties Have Diverse, Deeply Held Convictions
Bonus day for December Negotiation and Leadership program.
Gain the strategies, tools, and frameworks you need to manage difficult conversations effectively in this program led by negotiation experts Sheila Heen and Douglas Stone.
… Read More
Relationship-Building in Negotiation
Forging close bonds typically helps negotiators reach better deals, work together effectively over time, and manage conflict—yet negotiators often rush through the process of relationship-building in negotiation. Here’s advice on how to approach this important aspect of negotiation more methodically.
Overcome Partisan Perceptions
An unconscious bias often gets in the way of relationship-building in negotiation: partisan perceptions, or … Read Relationship-Building in Negotiation
Practical Lessons from Great Negotiators
Bonus day for December Negotiation and Leadership program.
Gain the strategies, tools, and frameworks you need to manage difficult conversations effectively in this program led by negotiation experts Sheila Heen and Douglas Stone.
… Read Practical Lessons from Great Negotiators
Elements of Conflict: Diagnose What’s Gone Wrong
In the heat of conflict, it can be difficult to think rationally about how you got where you are and how you might make things better. But by taking a break to consider the elements of conflict, you can move toward a more rational assessment of the dispute and come up with ways to address … Read More
Semester Difficult Conversations: How To Discuss What Matters Most
Difficult Conversations are an important part of the human experience – at times uncomfortable or painful, however, it is possible to learn how to manage a difficult conversation in a constructive way. From business partners and relationships with customers, clients, supplier and colleagues, to dynamics with family, friends, and members of our communities, the … Read More
The Ladder of Inference: A Resource List
The ladder of inference describes how a negotiator, or any decision maker, relies upon her personal knowledge, or observable data, up the ladder of inference to the next stage, which is selected data.
… Read The Ladder of Inference: A Resource List
Harvard Negotiation Master Class: Advanced Strategies for Experienced Negotiators – November 18–20, 2024
Strictly limited to 60 participants who have completed a prior course in negotiation, this first-of-its-kind program offers unprecedented access to experts from Harvard Law School, MIT, and the Harvard Kennedy School—all of whom are committed to delivering a transformational learning experience.
… Read More
Case Study of Conflict Management: To Resolve Disputes and Manage Conflicts, Assume a Neutral 3rd Party Role
In their book Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most (Penguin Putnam, 2000), authors Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, and Sheila Heen tell us how to engage in the conversations in our professional or personal lives that make us uncomfortable by examining a case study of conflict management. Tough, honest conversations are critical for managers, … Read More
Semester Difficult Conversations: How To Discuss What Matters Most
Difficult Conversations are an important part of the human experience – at times uncomfortable or painful, however, it is possible to learn how to manage a difficult conversation in a constructive way. From business partners and relationships with customers, clients, supplier and colleagues, to dynamics with family, friends, and members of our communities, the … Read More
How to Manage Conflict at Work
Sooner or later, almost all of us will find ourselves trying to cope with how to manage conflict at work. At the office, we may struggle to work through high-pressure situations with people with whom we have little in common. We need a special set of strategies to calm tempers, restore order, and meet each … Read How to Manage Conflict at Work
Negotiation Workshop: Improving Your Negotiating Effectiveness
Course Dates: This course is closed
Too many negotiators leave value on the table. They painfully divide a small pie after a costly battle while failing to capture offsetting opportunities for joint gain, or win the battle, but at the cost to relationships and reputation that limit long-term value. Reliably negotiating optimal outcomes requires a keen … Read More
Best Negotiation Books: A Negotiation Reading List
Whether you are facing negotiations with Congress, colleagues, customers, or family members, the following negotiation books, published in recent years by experts from the Program on Negotiation, offer new perspectives on common negotiating dilemmas.
… Read More
Negotiating Difficult Conversations: Dealing with Tough Topics Productively
Course Dates: This course is closed
When negotiations become difficult, emotions often escalate and talks break down. To overcome barriers and turn negotiations from difficult to collaborative, from breakdown to breakthrough, you must learn to understand the inter- and intra-personal dynamics at play. In this program, you will examine how your own assumptions and behaviors can … Read More
How to Portray Confidence in Negotiation So You Don’t Look Desperate
In our negotiations, we all regularly cope with counterparts who try too hard—such as salespeople who pester us with phone calls or show up at our office or home unannounced. Their desperation to reach a deal comes through loud and clear, making them seem not only annoying but also potentially ripe for exploitation. At the … Read More
Negotiation Skills: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback
A negotiation Q&A with Sheila Heen, co-author (with Douglas Stone) of the book, Thanks for the Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well.
… Read More
Must-Read Negotiation Books for 2019
The year 2017 offered plenty of negotiation hits and misses in the realms of government, business, and beyond. To avoid failed negotiations in 2018, politicians, business leaders, and the rest of us would be wise to explore the following recent negotiation books, which can help steer us through our most difficult negotiating dilemmas:
… Read Must-Read Negotiation Books for 2019
Dear Negotiation Coach: Need help? Don’t be afraid to ask
Q: I recently took a job with a new company, where I will take part in negotiating complex deals. Naturally, this makes me nervous. I think I would benefit from my colleagues’ advice, as they are more experienced in our industry and could probably offer a fresh perspective, especially when I’m feeling stuck. At the … Read More
Book Notes: Make the most of feedback in your negotiations
It’s time to negotiate a promotion, but whether you meet that goal will depend on how your latest performance evaluation unfolds. You’re trying to improve your relationship, but you don’t like the advice you’re getting from your therapist. Your newest client seems satisfied overall, but he finds something trivial to criticize whenever the two of … Read More
Think Like a Mediator
To set the stage for a productive discussion, open a difficult conversation with the Third Story, advise the authors of Difficult Conversations. The Third Story is one an impartial observer, such as a mediator, would tell; it’s a version of events both sides can agree on. “The key is learning to describe the gap – … Read Think Like a Mediator
Opening students up to negotiation
Working It Out is a 27-page handbook designed to introduce high school students to problem-solving, interest-based negotiation. Written by Getting to YES co-author Roger Fisher and Difficult Conversations co-author Douglas Stone, Working It Out presents core concepts from both books in a clear, simple format with plenty of age-appropriate examples from family, school, workplace and … Read Opening students up to negotiation
Negotiation and Leadership
NEGOTIATION MASTER CLASS
Negotiation Essentials Online
Beyond the Back Table: Working with People and Organizations to Get to Yes
Articles & Insights
BATNA
- Business Negotiations
- Conflict Resolution
- Is Cross-Cultural Conflict Resolution Education Collaborative Enough?
- Managing Expectations in Negotiations
- Negotiating the Good Friday Agreement
- MESO: Make Multiple Equivalent Simultaneous Offers to Create Value in Dealmaking Table
- How to Deal with Threats: 4 Negotiation Tips for Managing Conflict at the Bargaining Table
- Crisis Negotiations
- Police Negotiation Techniques from the NYPD Crisis Negotiations Team
- Crisis Negotiation Skills: The Hostage Negotiator’s Drill
- Famous Negotiations Cases – NBA and the Power of Deadlines at the Bargaining Table
- AI Negotiation in the News
- Power Tactics in Negotiation: How to Gain Leverage with Stronger Parties
- Dealing with Difficult People
- Dealmaking
- Perspective Taking and Empathy in Business Negotiations
- Understanding Exclusive Negotiation Periods in Business Negotiations
- Try a Contingent Contract if You Can’t Agree on What Will Happen
- Contract Negotiation Skills: Setting Yourself Up for Success
- Should Women “Lean In” to Create More Value in Negotiations?
- Dispute Resolution
- International Negotiation
- What is the Multi-Door Courthouse Concept
- India’s Direct Approach to Conflict Resolution
- Managing Cultural Differences in Negotiation
- Famous Negotiators: Tony Blair’s 10 Principles to Guide Diplomats in International Conflict Resolution
- International Negotiations and Agenda Setting: Controlling the Flow of the Negotiation Process
- Leadership Skills
- Mediation
- Negotiation Skills
- Negotiation Training
- Salary Negotiations
- Teaching Negotiation
- Join Us in Cambridge for a Summit on AI and Negotiation
- Teach by Example with These Negotiation Case Studies
- Teaching Critical Leadership Skills
- Teaching the Fundamentals: The Best Introductory Negotiation Role Play Simulations
- Act Now to Purchase Materials for Next Semester and Avoid a Price Increase
- Win-Win Negotiations