The 365 Best Business Books Of All-Time: Never Split The Difference

I like to study top performers who thrive in life or death situations on a regular basis. Surgeons. Navy Seals. FBI Hostage Negotiators.

I think there’s a lot to be learned from those kinds of people.

So when Chris Voss — former top FBI negotiator and overall badass dude — says there’s a better way to negotiate, I’m all ears.

In this book Never Split The Difference, he lays out what’s wrong with traditional negotiating techniques, and how he rewrote the rule book at the FBI.

My Key Takeaway/Principle

People will negotiate against themselves if you give them the opportunity.

When it gets down to the actual bargaining, you’ll usually have four opportunities to say “no” before even saying the word, which gets your counterpart to bid against themselves.

The first time you do it you’ll say “How am I supposed to do that?” The trick is to say it in a deferential way, so that it appears as a plea for help.

The second way to say no is something along the lines of “Your offer is very generous, I’m sorry, that just doesn’t work for me.”

The third time you can use something like “I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I just can’t do that.”

Lastly, you can use “I’m sorry, no.”

All the while you haven’t made a counteroffer, and your counterpart is most likely to bid against themselves at least once during the process.

Questions to ask yourself

• How can I get myself comfortable saying no in a negotiation?
• What opportunities do I have this week where I can try this technique?

What else is covered in this book?

Where should I start? You’ll learn how to use calibrated questions to give your counterpart the illusion of control. You’ll learn how to bend reality in your favour. You’ll learn the magic phrase you always want to hear from the other side. You’ll learn how tactical empathy will help you use your counterparts emotions to your advantage. I could go on.

This year (2018) I’m reading and summarizing the top 365 business books of all-time. You can get the full list of books, and links to my reviews of each book, by clicking here.

Happy learning!