Split the Pie audiobook

This excellent book is built around a truly important insight. When in negotiations, identify the added value that will be created through the negotiations, and then split that added value (which is not the same thing as splitting to total cost of the transaction). It sounds abstract here, but the book makes it clear and shows how it can work to allow you to negotiate honestly and still get treated fairly.

This book made me wish I’d gone to business school and had Professor Nalebuff as a professor. I picked up the advanced copy this morning thinking that I’d glance through a few pages with my coffee before turning to my work and got sucked into reading the whole thing. Every time I thought, oh, I should really put this down, Nalebuff was there with another compelling example, another critical insight. The experience was a bit like visiting Pepe’s in New Haven (see Chapter 1) planning to only have a couple bites and then, inevitably, eating an entire pizza.What I loved about “Split the Pie” is that it made me realize that I’d been looking at something I thought I knew well the wrong way. It made me think back over the many negotiations I’d engaged in and see my missteps, but it has also fundamentally reoriented how I plan to conduct my affairs going forward. This book has lessons I am going to carry with me for the rest of my life.

Negotiations can be hard. They can also be drawn out. While not intending to, Nalebuff provides a way out of the mess. A way in which people, if they follow his approach, can get to reasonable outcomes in negotiations quickly. Using simple examples he shows how to understand what parties are really getting out of negotiations and how to balance their apparent power with what can really be achieved. It provides a philosophy that is very much the anti-Art of the Deal. Negotiating tactics are fruitless against those who also deploy them. What you want to encourage people to do is see through everything and in that way solutions and a more harmonious relationship will present themselves.Nalebuff argues that he is using a practical, economic approach. This is true. But under it, all is a way to make the world work better.

A solid book on negotiation. Nalebuff has some interesting arguments to argue for a more allocentric, empathetic way of negotiation to obtain a better outcome for both sides. Entertaining asides and examples and a succinct structure make for a very good read, although some chapters can seem a bit disconnected from one another.

As a negotiation consultant I love to talk about growing the pie. And to see how a Yale professor weaves data and case studies to support it is music to my ears!

AN amazing book that focuses on the idea that there is a "pie" in any given negotiation.Barry defines the pie as "the additional value created through an agreement to work together."He proceeds to drop a bombshell...that highlights how momentumental this concept is, "most people are splitting the wrong pie; they focus on the total amount, not the gain created by an agreement."Barry brings out this concept in the following example (i'm changing it up a little bit tho).Lets say you have two people that are going to be given a pizza with 12 slices if they can agree on how to divide it up. if not they only get 6 and Alice gets 4 slices and BOb 2....how would you handle this situation?Some would argue a power perspective...Alice has a more powerful fall back option than Bomb (4 slices) so she should get more slices in this arrangement (8) and Bob 4. Most would prob argue the fair perspective...6 each .None of these are correct." Under the pie perspective, the negotiation pie of 6 is split 3 and 3. Each side gets their fallback plus half the pie. Alice ends up with 4 + 3 = 7 slices, and Bob gets 2 + 3 = 5 slices."The point is that Alice+Bob had a total of 6 slices between them before this arrangement (4 for Alice 2 for Bob). Together they produce 6 more slices.As a result, Bob and Alice are both equally responsible for the 6 additional slices and both should, as a result, get 3 slices each.It's not about what you had going into the arrangement...it's about what you two going into the arrangement produced, or as the book elaborates on in cases where there isn't a pie yet, can produce together.The book covers various other aspects of this ideaHow to negotiate with someone who doesn't know the Pie formula?How to handle situations where you're negotiating with a plethora of people?How to be more persuasive as a negotiator in general?The book also brings out that the key to negotiating is to give the other side what they want...and that will result in them being more willing to give you what you want...perhaps at a discount for giving them what they want.But yeah...this book completely shifted my perspective on negotiating...I'll never negotiate the same after reading this in the legal field or anywhere else.

Ever wish you could ask for what you want and feel confident about it? Or approach everyday with a completely new vantage point? I stumbled on to a book that turned everything around for me in an instant. What I learned was a simple way of thinking and negotiating with E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E. It unveiled insights and opportunities in my professional and personal relationships -- even with my teens. Yale professor Barry Nalebuff’s new book, “Split the Pie” has the insights, the principles and the discipline I needed to help level the playing field when it comes to negotiations. The book shares many examples of how to grow and thus split a bigger pie, where both sides stand a chance to win -- even bigger than what I thought possible. — Lourdes de la Mata-Little, Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer (newly negotiated), Goodwill Industries, South Florida

I took Barry Nalebuff's course on "Introduction to Negotiation" during the height of the pandemic in 2020, so when he announced that he was publishing a book containing the same concepts he taught, I immediately grabbed a copy. This book served as a useful refresher and I definitely recommend it to anyone who is interested to learn about how to reach a fair agreement. He has a wealth of experience in the real world and the examples provided are laid out clearly. Though it may take a few rereads for the lessons to truly sink in, it reshapes the conventional notion that everything has to be split proportionally when two parties need each other to achieve a specific outcome.

I wouldn't call it a radical approach, more like a good and a slightly contraintuitive guide for negotiations. The concept is easy, but there is a lot of caveats that can force you to make a bad deal despite the fact you have read this book - Nalebuff addresses that by going into greater detail about how to run the negotiation process, which is far more standard and not directly connected to the method (for example - don't do lowball offers, try to learn more about the other side, be prepared to give non-monetary concessions as it can help land the deal and more).Definitely recommended if you are negotiating often.

Originally published at myreadinglife.com.Barry Nalebuff was on a podcast this past June discussing how he sold his company Honest Tea to Coke for millions of dollars. He is a game theorist who used some basic economic principles to negotiate the best deal from an apparent position of weakness vis a vis one of the largest companies in the world. How did he do this? He discussed the ideas for doing it in that podcast, but he goes into even more detail in his book Split the Pie: A Radical New Way to Negotiate.The main principle is in the title of the book – split the pie. The goal is to get both negotiators to agree in advance to split the pie evenly. Then they are both on the same side working to figure out how to maximize the size of the pie they will split. One of the key concepts for doing this is understanding the BATNA for both sides. BATNA is Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement. This simply means the best outcome for each side if the negotiations fall apart. With the agreement to split the pie and knowledge of BATNAs, it is amazing to see how negotiations can truly become a win-win.The book goes into quite a bit of detail on the numbers, how to calculate a BATNA, and how to maximize the size of the pie. And since all negotiations aren't straightforward and simple, he shows how to handle a wide range and type of negotiations. Despite this depth and breadth, the author keeps the books easily understood and approachable with numerous examples, many from real life experiences.

Negotiation is probably one of the most important business and career skills.The other book in the Negotiation niche is "Never Split the Difference" by a former FBI hostage negotiator.This book has a less intense but more pursuasive, collaborative and influence orientated ways to reframe the terms and how to approach.I listened to this via Blinkist and it was great, but I will surely get the full copy also, as I can tell that this deserves more time and attention to master the nuance. I'm very glad to have been introduced to this book.Listened to abridged version via Blinkest 2x speed. (17 min audio)

El libro enseña una nueva perspectiva desde la que afrontar las negociaciones. Te enseña a centrarte en la ganancia del acuerdo, en vez de en la posicion de poder de cada uno. Ademas te enseña a entender la situación del otro para poder afrontar mejor la negociación y tambien a sacar a negociadores tozudos que no quieren cambiar de oferta de ella.Leido en Blinkist

I was very skeptical at first, but the author made some compelling case studies. I still haven't pinned down how to do this in a negotiation over criminal sentences. Is the "pie" the difference between pleaing open to the judge and the maximum sentence? That doesn't feel right.

I've never really considered myself a very good negotiator, but this book finally makes it make sense to me. Clearly written with examples that make the concepts accessible and applicable. It's an effortless read that has had an immediate impact for me