Getting to Yes with Yourself: A Book Talk by William Ury (Our biggest adversaries in negotiations are often ourselves.)

Bill Ury is arguably one of the most influential and brilliant international negotiators of our time.  He is one of the founding professors at Harvard Law School’s Executive Program on Negotiation and a contributor in the Middle East Peace / Camp David Accords with Menachem Begin, Jimmy Carter, Anwar El Sadat in 1978. 

I am extremely privileged and eternally blessed to have attended his lectures and programs at Harvard Law School’s Executive Program on Negotiation and credit much of my own personal and business success to and through the adoption of his principles and techniques.  Through the application of basic principles like: “Go to the balcony,”  “Cross the bridge” and determining the difference between “Positions” and “Interests”, I have helped myself and countless others to reach agreements in tough labor negotiations, day to day business operations and in mediating disputes in the workplace.

The following is a 45 minute YouTube video of his most recent lecture on his book, Getting to Yes with Yourself.  Most of my negotiating clients are experienced labor attorneys or full time commercial building contractors; many truly believe that they are excellent negotiators because they know labor law and or have been to the table a few times.  While time at the table is a valuable experience that cannot be taught, nothing can ever replace the core values, beliefs, tools and systems learned through an internationally recognized academic program, such as Harvard Law School’s Executive Program on Negotiation.   

Through my time and experiences attending programs at institutions like Harvard Law School’s Executive Program on Negotiation and Cornell University’s ILR School, I have grown as a negotiator, as a leader, as a mediator and facilitator, as a spouse, partner and friend. Take 45 minutes out of your day today and expose yourself to some of the core techniques utilized by many successful negotiators.  Whether your organization is approaching an upcoming tough round of labor negotiations, you are dealing with interpersonal disputes in your office or you and your spouse are merely considering your next decision, I promise you that this will be the best 45 minutes that you can spend learning about yourself and how you can help yourself to be a better contributor to a successful outcome for all.