The Point of the Deal

In this summary you will learn

• Why negotiating good deals isn’t enough
• Why implementation matters
• How emphasizing implementation changes negotiation practices and relationships

getAbstract rating

Why you should read The Point of the Deal

The first line of this book’s preface asks what many potential readers may be thinking: “Yet another book about negotiation?” The answer is yes, and a much-needed one. Many books on making deals are out there. Some are good, others bad, but most focus on the negotiation process. Even those that emphasize extensive preparation and research tend to focus on the deal itself – making it, improving it, wording it. Danny Ertel and Mark Gordon focus elsewhere. They direct readers to a single core concept: implementation. In doing so, and in illustrating what focusing on implementation means in practice, they add genuinely new insight into negotiation. Shifting the focus to how the deal will work long-term, if it will work, and what sort of precedent the negotiation process establishes for ongoing interaction is extremely valuable. As a result, getAbstract recommends this book to anyone involved in negotiation.

About the Authors

Danny Ertel is the author or co-author of several works on negotiation. Mark Gordon is a senior adviser to the Harvard Negotiation Project at Harvard Law School. They co-founded a negotiations consulting firm.