Masayoshi Son had “earned a reputation as the Bill Gates of Japan” by making it big with the software distributor SoftBank. According to Sebastian Mallaby in The Power Law: Venture Capital and the Making of the New Future, while Son’s “childhood home was a squatter’s shack near a railroad that he shared with six siblings,” he invested “like a desperado with nothing to lose, even when his fortune was worth billions.” This style served him well when he negotiated with Yahoo’s f

Bob Metcalfe, the inventor of the Ethernet computer-networking technology and founder of a tech company sold in 2010 to Hewlett-Packard for $2.7 billion, called this negotiation tactic of a potential venture capital investor the “Oh-by-the-Way Syndrome.” Here’s what happened. This venture firm would reach a tentative agreement with him on all the major terms, but then – just when he expected to sign – they would say “oh, by the way, we also need …,” and add another signifi

“Does it help or hurt to be unpredictable in a negotiation,” I am often asked these days. Let me give you a great legal answer – it depends! What does it depend upon?

Our son recently interviewed for internships this summer (he’s a Northwestern University junior double majoring in computer science and psychology). It got me thinking about one of the most consequential negotiations of our lives, our first real career opportunity. Why is this first job negotiation often disproportionately impactful? Because it almost always provides a baseline starting point for all future job negotiations So, what is especially crucial here as a jobsee

My mom recently closed on the sale of her condo, and I just debriefed on the negotiation with our real estate agent. Here is what we learned. We all can benefit from these.

We had a round table growing up where the six of us sat for family dinners. Four kids plus our parents. And I remember discussing this years ago with my parents, who said they liked the round table as it created an environment in which each of us felt that we could be equal participants in our discussions.

I recently had knee replacement surgery, and the post-surgery rehabilitation phase has been challenging. Everything went well surgery-wise, but the rehab – to be successful long-term – has required a surprising level of perseverance, dedication, discipline, and commitment.

"It’s your tone,” my wife said to me after I apologized. What did she mean? She didn’t feel like I meant it when I said it. “Ugh,” I thought to myself. I did mean it, but it doesn’t really help much if she doesn’t believe it. What’s the problem here?

I am not a huge fan of Disneyland and Disneyworld. My wife and kids love them, but I hate long lines and just don’t love rollercoasters and their other rides (largely because I don’t feel great after and it takes me a while to recover). But I do admire how Disney runs

Shortly after being named Disney’s CEO, Bob Iger negotiated peace with then disgruntled and former board member Roy Disney (Walt’s nephew). Roy had just sued Disney over Iger’s selection, and it easily could have derailed Iger’s effort to lead Disney in a bold new direction.

The personal threats, vitriol and escalatory social media tantrums flying between former bromance buddies Elon Musk and Donald Trump last week – and their apparent truce this week – got me thinking about how friends should effectively communicate and negotiate with each other.

I recently finished tennis superstar Jimmy Connors' autobiography The Outsider and it contained some great lessons applicable to negotiations (and life)...

I’ve always enjoyed escaping into the fantasy worlds of novels and series like The Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, and..

The major deal points for the sale of my client’s company were set. But we still needed to negotiate terms and conditions (Ts and Cs)...

Learn the art of negotiation with 10 Keys to Negotiating Contract Terms (P2). Discover tactics to handle tricky counterparts and seal the...

The bread and butter of a corporate/transactional lawyer’s professional life involves negotiating contract terms and conditions (“Ts & Cs”).

I recently contacted a landscape designer to get a bid on our backyard and he came out to explore our thoughts. After checking everything...

How long has it been since you were speaking with a colleague and they glanced at their phone to check a text, notification or email?

No one is perfect. And everyone makes mistakes. Sometimes these mistakes are minor, but other times we really mess up. It’s human...

I have an average memory. But I’m always looking to improve. So, when my son suggested I read Joshua Foer’s New York Times bestseller...