Everything we assumed we knew was wrong” (p.26), we are not rational, compromise is terrible, and “No” is the answer to getting what you want in and out of the office. These are all concepts that the reader can be expected to wholeheartedly believe and understand by the end of this book. Former FBI hostage negotiator Chris Voss hit the mark with this book, sharing effective tips and tools for negotiating in and beyond your workspace. “Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as Your Life Depends on It” is a 5-star read for those trying to enhance their “deal making skills” whether that be with work or personal relationships.
Prior to 2008, Chris Voss was the lead international kidnapping negotiator for the FBI. According to The Black Swan Group, through his 28 year with the Bureau, he was trained in negotiation by the FBI, Scotland Yard and Harvard Law School. Chris has taught business negotiation in the MBA program in several of the world’s best universities and business programs. Voss continues to host seminars and attend guest lectures and is rumored to be working on additional books.
“Never Split the Difference”, a euphemism for “never compromise” because compromise on the street often leads to the loss of lives, Was published in May of 2016 and is an extremely powerful book that tells the stories of negotiation when you really can’t afford to lose, like in a situation where you are negotiating for the lives of others. Each chapter includes engaging theories on communication and actionable recommendations on how to improve your communication skills, while telling intriguing stories of the life of an FBI agent. These stories include bank robberies, terrorists and a bunch of different “bad guys”. This book will not only help your business deals, but your personal relationships as well. Voss gives us more than just the advice on what to do, he shows us why they work as well.
This book is a fun read full of useful information. The new concepts in every chapter had me highlighting the techniques and lessons that I truly wanted to remember. The most important to me, being that you should never be so eager to solve a conflict that’s result is inconvenient for you. Accepting bad deals is almost always a mistake. Compromise isn’t always the answer, while pushing for a hard “yes” doesn’t get you any closer to a victory, it only angers the other party. And finally, “Driving towards “that's right” is a winning strategy in all negotiations. But hearing “you're right” is a disaster.” (p. 105)
Overall this is a wonderful book that teaches the reader that negotiation, at its core, is nothing more than conversations with reactions and results. Getting what you need from others will help set up the rest of your life. Chriss Voss will teach you how to take authority and show dominance in the conversations that will make or break your career. Because of the strong lessons in this book, I believe it would be a great book for most young people to read. Whether they are beginning their college career or creating their own blue-collar business, “Never Split the Difference” by Chris Voss is a great resource for people looking to better their life without looking for a designated “self-help” book. Remember: “... without self-control and emotional regulation…” (p 156) these strategies will not work.
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Reviews with images
Saved a full 7% or $4,000 on car of my dreams since I was a boy!!! Best book you'll ever buy!
I seldom go out of my way to write reviews, but have to do this in this case!!! I first listened to the audible audio version of this book. I liked the general ideas and the way everything was described, but hated the cockiness of the author and how he primarily spent time on talking about how great he is. Nevertheless, I remembered some of the key lessons and thought I'd apply them the next time I'd buy something of significant value.Well, that moment started around 3 weeks ago when I found the car I loved, priced at $55,900. After viewing the car and test-driving it, I thought I would actually pay full asking price for it because I had done my homework and it was already the cheapest car of that type in the entire US. I also attentively listened to the car salesman, who applied many of the tricks that Chris Voss mentioned in his book. However, I was prepared."Hey so are you going to do this? I have a guy come in from 150 miles away tomorrow morning."- I would love to, the car is great. But it simply is too much money for me. Can you get me closer to $50,000?"The best price I can do is 53,900."- I called him back saying: thanks man, you're really awesome and thanks for trying for me, but this is out of budget for me."The guy just came by (that was Monday morning at 11am) and he's just getting his financing in place now. Are you still interested?"- At this point I knew he just made that up because with traffic, the guy would not have made it 150 miles far and already have given him a positive answer on Monday morning, so I responded and said: The absolute maximum I can afford is $51,150 (extreme anchor and odd number as suggested by the author).- I also threw in non-monetary rewards to the deal promising him that I would write him 5-star reviews on all automotive platforms if he could meet that price.He responded the best he'd be willing to do was $52,400.- I again thanked him for trying and said I understood as it was a great car but it was too much for me and he should keep me posted if anything changed.He did not respond, so I took two (nervous) days and avoided "bidding against myself" as Voss names it. I then noticed that the price suddenly went up from the listed $55,900 on the website to $63,900 and was worried he might have found a buyer. I contacted him again and said: hey, just wanted to check if the owner changed his mind perhaps and approved the $51,150.- He responded saying that the owner had given the car into auction which were giving strong sales, but he could bring it back for me, if I could make a stronger offer.I did NOT make a stronger offer and just mentioned that I felt we were really close to getting deal done.- He basically responded: $51,900 and it's yours, nothing left to negotiate.- I agreed within 10 minutes and asked how to get him paid ASAP to reserve the car. I will be picking it up later this week.If you made it this far: this $15 audio-book/ $9 printed book (which I have since given to three of my sales people in my company) saved me $4,000, even though I was willing to pay list-price. I cannot tell you how proud I am of this, especially since I don't enjoy being perceived as "cheap". However, I feel super good about the savings who will pay for gas/ insurance and make the deprecitation when I will try to sell the car in the future felt so so so much less. Thanks @Chris Voss!
Top reviews from other countries
Andréa Longhi Simões Almeida
Conhecimento muito agregador de valor
Reviewed in Brazil on November 5, 2022
Chandrashekar kunder
Mind blowing book with practical steps on Negotiation
Reviewed in India on April 22, 2024