Creative Conflict: A Practical Guide for Business Negotiators

Negotiation is stuck—it's time for something new.

Almost everything is negotiable, almost every interaction a negotiation. And in no field is this clearer than in business, where every day we need to work with others to get things done. But when we have real differences, is a win-win always possible? Or must every negotiation be a zero-sum game, with a winner and a loser?

Over the last half century, these two opposing philosophies have ruled the field: the win-lose, tooth-and-nail battle plan identified with training guru Chester Karrass, and the win-win, "principled" creed of Getting to Yes, by Harvard's Roger Fisher and William Ury. Both were game changers in their day, but neither approach fully meets the challenges of today's volatile, disruptive, ultracompetitive business environment, where strategic problem-solving is a crucial skill, and time is of the essence.

In Creative Conflict, negotiation experts Bill Sanders and Frank Mobus provide something new. They use a dynamic, dialectical approach to show that negotiations are driven by competition and cooperation at the same time, counterintuitively revealing that conflict is at the core of every negotiation. When we tiptoe around conflict, we negotiate in a half-hearted way that limits our results. Creative negotiators probe and push until they hit a wall of disagreement, then figure out how to get past it. The authors construct a simple framework based on three basic but distinct contexts: bargaining, dealmaking, and relationship building. They then instruct readers on how to skillfully pursue their own interests while simultaneously seeking ways to expand a deal's scope and value for both sides.

Based on the popular Mobus Creative Negotiating seminars and the authors' experience working with Fortune 500 companies, Creative Conflict is a business book written for businesspeople, by businesspeople. It's your go-to guide for boosting your skills and confidence as a negotiator—and learning to strike a better deal.