Getting to We ─ Negotiating Agreements for Highly Collaborative Relationships

Current negotiation practices are outdated and do businesses more harm than good. It's time for a change.

For years, businesses have worked under the assumption that the goal of negotiation is simply to get the deal. Hundreds of books have been written on 'getting to yes,' 'getting past no,' and 'getting more'…the prevalent assumption being 'Get a signature, and you're done.' But this narrows the focus down strictly to the strategies and tactics needed to negotiate this deal, this time, under this set of terms—with no thought for the future.

More and more, business success depends on strategic relationships built for an ever-dynamic and interconnected world that will endure long after 'the deal is done.' For many organizations, this ongoing relationship is as important as the deal itself. The focus needs to be on developing evolving and mutually beneficial relationships that create shared value, solve mutual problems, and get both parties to a place of 'we' rather than the usual 'us vs. them' tug of war. Drawing on best practices and real examples from companies achieving record results, Getting to We flips conventional negotiation on its head and shifts the perspective to where it belongs: viewing the relationship as the substance of the deal, not merely a 'one and done' transaction.

From the team that developed the Vested business model for highly collaborative relationships and experts in the field of negotiation, this innovative book provides both sides of the negotiation table with the tools they need to create mutual, long-lasting, successful business relationships in today's new business world.

Kate Vitasek is the founder and managing partner of Supply Chain Visions, a Kirkland, Wash., consulting firm that specializes in supply-chain strategy and education. She is a faculty member at the University of Tennessee's Center for Executive Education and she teaches MBA classes on performance management and lean supply chains at Wright State University. Vitasek also teaches seminars for the Warehouse Education Research Council and is on the peer review board for the Journal of Business Logistics.

Jeanette Nyden, J.D., author, educator and attorney, is a recognized thought leader and negotiation expert. Nyden authored Negotiation Rules! A Practical Approach to Big Deal Negotiations and co-authored The Vested Outsourcing Manual: A Guide to Creating Successful Business and Outsourcing Agreements. In 2002, Nyden founded Nyden & Co, a boutique consulting and training company. Nyden has worked with companies to help them structure and negotiate high performing partnerships including companies, such as Microsoft, Union Pacific Railroad, Jones Lang LaSalle, Esterline Corporation, and T-Mobile.


David Frydlinger is an attorney and head of the group for Strategic Contracts at Lindahl law firm in Sweden and is the author of a Swedish book on how to write and negotiate commercial contracts. He works mainly for companies in the ICT sector, drafting and negotiating outsourcing and other complex commercial contracts. Frydlinger holds a masters degree in sociology.