Mind and Heart of the Negotiator, Second Edition, The

Chapter 3. Distributive NegotiatioN: Slicing the Pie

Lewis Kravitz, an Atlanta executive coach and former outplacement counselor, advises patience and knowing when not to speak in the heat of negotiations. In one instance, he was coaching a young man who had just been sacked by his team. The young man felt desperate and told Kravitz he was willing to take a $2,000 pay cut and accept $28,000 for his next job. Kravitz told the man to be quiet at the bargaining table and let the prospective employer make the first offer. At the man's next job interview, the employer offered him $32,000, stunning the overjoyed job seeker into momentary silence. The employer interpreted the silence as dissatisfaction and upped the offer to $34,000 on the spot. ( ...