Lessons Learned

• What you would get if negotiations fail often determines what you do get if negotiations succeed.

• A party who can make a take-it-or-leave-it offer can get the entire surplus from a transaction.

• Bringing other parties to your negotiations can radically alter the bargaining environment.

• Giving up control can enhance your negotiating position.

• Taking negotiations to the brink of failure can make credible a threat to do something that is not in your self-interest.