3-d Negotiation

Chapter Ten

Make Lasting Deals

LET’S THINK FOR A MOMENT about the origins of a common expression: “a deal’s a deal” or, in more formal settings, “we need to insist upon the sanctity of contracts.” The expression is usually heard when one party to a deal has grown unhappy with the bargain that he or she has struck, and is now trying to get out of it, or at least get better terms.

Given that parties will sometimes try to get out of deals that all parties were reasonably happy to sign—the question is: what can you do to make your deal stick? And better: can you craft deals that adapt well to changing circumstances, especially reasonably predictable ones? Fortunately, the answer to both of these questions is often “yes.”

In previous chapters, we ...