Coming soon · Book Profile

Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In

A practical method for negotiating agreements that satisfy both parties by focusing on interests and objective merits rather than haggling over positions.

A profile of this book is on the way.

Get the book →

What it’s about

Getting to YES distills decades of research from the Harvard Negotiation Project into a clear, all-purpose method called principled negotiation. Rather than forcing you to choose between being a soft negotiator who gets exploited or a hard bargainer who damages relationships, the book shows a third way: be hard on the merits and soft on the people. Through four core practices—separating the people from the problem, focusing on interests not positions, inventing options for mutual gain, and insisting on objective criteria—plus tools for handling more powerful opponents (BATNA), unwilling parties (negotiation jujitsu), and dirty tricks, the book teaches anyone to reach wise agreements efficiently and amicably. Illustrated with vivid real-world examples from divorces to the Camp David accords, it is the most useful negotiation primer ever written.

The through-line

Who it’s for: Anyone who must negotiate—a spouse, employee, boss, lawyer, diplomat, or consumer—who wants to reach fair agreements without being exploited or damaging relationships.
The problem: Standard positional bargaining produces unwise agreements, is inefficient, and endangers relationships. Negotiators feel trapped between being exploited if they're nice and being combative if they're firm—leaving them worn out, alienated, and dissatisfied.
The plan: Separate the people from the problem.
Focus on interests, not positions.
Invent options for mutual gain before deciding.
Insist on using objective criteria.
Develop your BATNA to know your alternative and increase your power.
The payoff: You reach wise agreements efficiently and amicably. · You protect your interests without damaging relationships. · You can be fair while guarding against those who take advantage of fairness.

See our guide

Related profiles we’ve built

Additional reading

Diseases of Workers · Bernardo Ramazzini
Cited as the foundational text of occupational medicine, written in the early 1700s, which describes many occupationally related diseases observed in farm patients that are still recognized today.
The Triple Bottom Line · Andrew Savitz
Introduces the concept of sustainability resting on three pillars: profit, planet, and people. The book uses this to argue that the 'people' component (human capital/worker health) is often dangerously neglected in agriculture.
The Omnivore's Dilemma · Michael Pollan
Referenced as an example of popular literature that reflects and advocates for the rising consumer voice and public scrutiny concerning sustainable food systems, which is a major trend impacting modern agriculture.
Silent Spring · Rachel Carson
Cited as the landmark 1962 book that launched the modern environmental movement and fundamentally shifted public and governmental attention toward the potential harms of pesticides, shaping decades of regulation and risk perception.
Normal Accidents: Living with High-Risk Technologies · Charles Perrow
The book's theory of 'system accidents' and 'tight coupling' is used by Gonzales to explain how cascading failures, like the Mount Hood climbing disaster, are inevitable features of certain complex systems.
The Emotional Brain & The Synaptic Self · Joseph LeDoux
LeDoux's neuroscience research on the amygdala's role in fear and memory forms the scientific backbone of Gonzales's argument about how emotion can hijack reason in a crisis.
The Survivor Personality · Al Siebert
Gonzales cites Siebert's psychological research on the traits of survivors, such as their use of playfulness and humor to stay in contact with reality and manage threats.
Touching the Void · Joe Simpson
This book provides one of the primary and most detailed case studies Gonzales analyzes to illustrate the psychology of a survivor, including managing pain, using patterns, and the will to live.
Adrift: Seventy-six Days Lost at Sea · Steven Callahan
Callahan's story serves as a textbook example of the ideal survivor mindset in action, demonstrating nearly all of the '12 Rules' Gonzales outlines, such as maintaining routine, finding beauty, and surrendering without giving up.
All Quiet on the Western Front · Erich Maria Remarque
Gonzales quotes Remarque's novel to illustrate the development of instinctual, life-saving secondary emotions in soldiers, a key concept in how experience rewires the brain for survival.