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14 Affiliate 1 (1988-1989)

handle is hein.journals/aff14 and id is 1 raw text is: Roger Fisher Getting to Yes and Beyond BY SANDRA J.P. DENNIS Roger Fisher is the co-author of Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In (with William Ury; Houghton Mifflin 1981), the most popular book ever written on negotiation techniques. His latest book, Getting Together: Building a Relationship that Gets to Yes (with Scott Brown; Houghton Mifflin 1988), recently hit the bookstore shelves. Fisher has over twenty-five years of experience in the theory and practice of negotiation and resolving disputes. He is the Samuel Williston Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, where he teaches negotiation and directs the Harvard Negotiation Project. Fisher is a senior advisor to Conflict Management, Inc. (See accompanying sidebar.) He is also the originator and executive editor of The Advocates public television series, and the co-originator and executive editor of the public television series Arabs and Israelis. Fisher has practiced law in Washington, DC, and consulted on negotiations with several governments. The Affiliate: What first inter- ested you in negotiation and its the- ory? Fisher: Basically, I was concerned with international theories. I taught international law and then civil procedure; clearly, most interna- tional cases must be settled by ne- gotiation, not by a court. You can't solve South Africa or the Middle East without negotiation. Then I re- alized that most domestic cases are settled the same way. Over the last twenty or thirty years., I've been working on the process for dealing with differences. Heretofore, most people have di- vided the field of negotiation into diplomacy, personal injury, labor relations, contract negotiation, and so forth. We looked across the board for common elements-whatever the subject, whether it's divorce or diplomacy, business, or labor-we looked for common ingredients. The theory is that just as scientists do better to look for the nature of mat- ter, the atom, rather than look for the nature of, for example, lino- leum, we do better if we look at the nature of conflict and how to deal with it. The Affiliate: Why do you think Getting to Yes has been so success- ful? Fisher: It rings true to experience. I had one businessman call me up and say, I knew everything in the book already; I just didn't know I knew it. A lot of people find it rings true to their experience; it makes sense to them and yet it organizes the ideas in a basic way they would never have time to really think about. The Affiliate: Why did you write the second book, Getting Together? Fisher: Basically, Getting to Yes was concerned with transactions, with settling disputes and making deals. Although there's a section there that says we separate the people from the problem and don't negotiate in a way that damages the relationship, there's nothing in there about what is meant by a good relationship. Most important nego- tiations are with people we've met before and are going to see again. It makes all the difference in the world if I'm negotiating with someone in whom I have confidence and feel fair about, not someone whom I treat as an enemy. Everyone wants a good relationship, whether it is an international relationship for secu- rity and trade, a business relation- ship for profit, or a personal relationship for companionship, pleasure, or sex. A small but crucial part of every relationship is an abil- ity to handle differences. If you have a successful relationship, it's one that can deal with differences when they come along. There's bound to be differences whether you're discussing what color to paint the legs of the kitchen table or where to go for vacation. If we can't handle a small difference, our relationship is in trouble. On the other hand, if we're able to deal (continued on page 13)

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