The Power of Nice

Anyone who is faced with making a deal--whether it be with a corporate adversary or a car salesman--will find The Power of Nice to be a very helpful guide through the potentially harrowing give-and-take that is, by definition, a regular part of the negotiating process. Packed with observations and anecdotes drawn from the experience of authors Ronald Shapiro and Mark Jankowski--partners in a negotiations seminar and consulting firm that counts baseball superstars Cal Ripkin Jr., Brooks Robinson, and Jim Palmer among its clientele--the book shows how to reorient the overall process from an exercise in antagonism to one in which everybody wins (but you win bigger). It is based on "the three Ps," which Shapiro and Jankowski describe as "preparing better than the other side; probing so you know what they want and why; and proposing, ideally without going first and revealing too much." All of the chapters, such as those on handling difficult competitors, bargaining from a position of weakness, eliminating obstacles, and building long-term relationships, are filled with checklists and exercises that help readers absorb the authors' suggestions and turn themselves into better negotiators. --Howard Rothman