Mark Twain on Negotiating

Back to the subject of helping the other party earn their outcome:

In The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain tells us of Tom getting his reluctant friends to paint Aunt Polly's fence.

You all know the story, so I'll just remind you of the lesson it teaches. In Twain's words, "He had discovered a great law of human action, .....namely, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain."

Quick and easy negotiations often sow discontent in the mind of the other party. Satisfaction is what we are seeking!

Jim Sauerwein