Earlier this week I posted an article on the impact that Getting to Yes has had on the field of negotiation over the forty years since its publication. Now here’s an interview I had several weeks ago with one of the co-authors, William Ury.
In our talk, William explains the book’s unusual genesis. He and Roger Fisher had previously written a guidebook for international mediators, but discovered that the potential audience for it was, as William now puts it, “about six people.”
That number is apocryphal, of course, but it’s nothing like the millions of copies of Yes that have since been sold around the world. It’s an Exhibit A story for the “if at first you don’t succeed” principle. I hope you enjoy it, along with lots of negotiation wisdom that William generously shares.
PS William has written prolifically over the years. I strongly recommend his Power of a Positive Yes and Getting to Yes with Yourself (and other worthy opponents).
Housekeeping
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William Ury Discusses Getting to Yes