Winning from Within

Life is a series of negotiations. You may not see yourself as a negotiator, but you are constantly negotiating. From seemingly insignificant daily decisions to important life choices, you negotiate every time you try to make plans, reach a consensus, persuade, or resolve disagreements. If you are like most people, you are not always satisfied with the outcome: you end up paying too much for bathroom tiles, your child cries over their bowl of cereal, or you lose an important contract. Sometimes the outcome is fine, but the process feels unfair. After fifteen years of teaching negotiation at Harvard Law School and training thousands of people worldwide on how to resolve conflicts, Fox had an insight about negotiation and human nature: the most important negotiations we engage in – those that determine the impact of our actions and the quality of our lives – are the negotiations we have with ourselves.