Getting to Yes - Roger Fisher & William Ury

This was hands down one of the best books I've read. Extremely useful in learning how to get to an agreement with others. Although theoretical, the pointers were clear with sufficient explanation and evidence, and with practice, I believe this is a skill that can be trained.

Content: The book is fairly straightforward - how do we get others to saying "yes". There are 3 main bodies for the book - the problem, the method, and other considerations we may have when negotiating. First, they look at defining what's the roadblock to the agreement, then laid key generic frameworks for standard negotiations that we can use. 

Estimated reading time needed: 12-15h depending how quickly you can internalise the info. I suggest taking it slow and absorbing as much as you can.

Key takeaways: 

1) Communication is the basis of negotiation, where negotiation is a process of communicating back and forth our interests.

2) In a difficult negotiation or with an impasse, there are 4 steps to create options we can take - same as solving any other problems in our lives - identify the problem, analyse it, identify approaches and take action steps.

3) An agreement may be based on disagreement - where one man's trash is another man's treasure. 

4) When negotiating, focus on interests and not positions. There are a few ways we can get to safeguard our interests. In principled negotiation, we can get others to come together to discuss a solution to all our problems, rather than argue about who wants what or who is right.

5) Your best alternative to a negotiated agreement (BATNA) - your next best alternative - is extremely powerful. Identify and improve it, so that you have more confidence in your negotiation and are willing to ask for more. Even if the negotiation turns sour, your alternative is still a good choice.

6) If the other party is firm on their position, look at their underlying interests, ask questions and pause. If they attack you personally, recast that attack as an attack on the problem.

7) Stick to principle when negotiating - it is difficult for others to fault your interests if you know what's important.

8) Separate the people from the problem - tackle the problem together, not tackle the other person.

9) Understanding the forest landscape is better than understanding one specific path through the woods. Know your interests, strategies, BATNA, potential rebuttals, and those of the other party.

Recommendation: There are many other interesting information and pointers in the book which I didn't cover here, such as what we can do if the other party has more "power" over us and how principled negotiation can help when encountering phony tactics. Negotiation happens in our daily lives, personal and professional. While we don't have to negotiate our way through everything, such as where to have dinner, it sure would be helpful to have such skills when needed.