William Ury, cofounder of Harvard’s Program on Negotiation, is one of the world’s best-known experts on negotiation. He is coauthor of Getting to Yes, the all-time best selling negotiation book in the world; the author of one of my favorite books on negotiation (Getting Past No: Negotiating in Difficult Situations); and author of the new book: Possible: How We Survive (and Thrive) in an Age of Conflict.

Please enjoy!

Timestamps for this episode are available below.

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Timestamps:

[00:00] Start

[06:53] Connecting with Roger Fisher.

[10:08] Devising Seminars.

[12:31] Negotiating the Camp David Accords.

[18:23] Writing the other side's victory speech.

[21:17] Writing Kim Jong-un's victory speech.

[26:20] Pondering possibilities in the modern Middle East.

[29:26] Lessons from iconic possibilist Nelson Mandela.

[32:17] Going to the balcony.

[36:11] Mitigating the risk of emotional spiraling with Hugo Chávez.

[40:50] The power of silence.

[44:09] Respect and saving face.

[51:08] Best alternative to a negotiated agreement (BATNA).

[1:02:49] The trust menu.

[1:06:29] The positive no.

[1:12:14] Closing on a positive note.

[1:14:56] What prompted William to write Possible?

[1:19:38] Negotiating as a creative endeavor.

[1:22:48] Sabbatical considerations.

[1:23:56] Exercise and self-care routines.

[1:29:27] Uncovering interests, not just positions.

[1:35:18] Hopes for the impact of Possible.

[1:37:25] Parting thoughts.

*

Resources from this episode: https://tim.blog/2024/02/13/william-ury/

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