Why 'hard-nosed negotiation' does not work

For all the books and supposed ‘styles’ of negotiating I think the advice from ‘Getting to Yes,’ by Fisher and Ury still holds true: ‘don’t bargain over position, bargain only over issues.’ By bargaining over position you can cement yourself into a bad place and it also clearly pinpoints your true position to the other person; here is a perfect example.

By 1963 the Beatles were the biggest band on the planet, outselling everyone else, selling out concert halls worldwide and becoming a merchandising phenomenon. Their manager, Brian Epstein was over the moon when United Artists decided they wanted to make a ‘Beatles’ movie and asked him to meet with them to discuss the contract. Epstein was triumphant, and so walked in to the meeting with a swagger and banged the table announcing ‘my boys won’t accept less than 7.5%, take it or leave it.’

Of course in those days 7.5% was a large amount but by cementing himself into the position Epstein did not realise that United Artists were looking at 25% as a starting point for the negotiations. As Denis O’Dell said in his book, ’At the Apple’s Core,’ “Brian, in a meeting with the producer of A Hard Day's Night, stated that he wouldn't accept less than 7.5% of the income from the movie. United Artists had the figure of 25% as a starting point for the deal negotiations.”

And so what is the moral of this tale? Wait, listen, ask questions and never, ever bargain over position, only over issues. Perhaps Lady Ga-Ga would have done a better job:

“Can't read my,
Can't read my,
No he can't read my poker face”