Chapter 7 of 10All chapters
Chapter 7 of 10
Relationship and reputation
Most negotiations repeat.
Repeated games
With suppliers, colleagues and clients you will negotiate again. Winning maximally once can cost more than it gains, because the other side remembers and prices it in.
- Separate the people from the problem: hard on the issue, easy on the person.
- A deal the other side regrets tends to be renegotiated in practice, whatever the contract says.
Fairness
People reject offers they see as unfair even at cost to themselves, which is well demonstrated experimentally. An objective standard makes a number easier to accept.