Book Review: ‘Getting to Yes’ by Roger Fisher and William Ury

I recently finished reading the book ‘Getting to Yes’ by Roger Fisher and William Ury. The book expanded on the concepts I was taught in the eCornell Project Leadership Certificate Conflict Resolution class.

I learned how to separate the people from the problem, focus on interests instead of positions, invent options for mutual gain and insist on using objective criteria to arrive at a fair agreement. Additionally, the book focused on techniques for responding to attacks by using “negotiation jujitsu” instead of responding in kind.

I got a lot of value out of this book because it provided me with a method to rely upon when I am nervous or scared before and during a negotiation.

My biggest Eureka! moment in the eCornell class was realizing that by concentrating on interests instead of positions, I could free both sides of the table to craft an agreement that would satisfy both sides without necessarily needing concessions by either side.

I liked learning about “negotiation jujitsu” techniques when I read the book, because I feel frustrated and nervous when negotiations turn into personal attacks. Learning a method for handling personal attacks will help me be a more effective negotiator in the future.

I would recommend this book for potential students and alumni of the eCornell Project Leadership Certificate classes.


Thank you for your time! If you have any questions about my experience with the eCornell Project Leadership classes, please email me at lisson@gmail.com