One of our favorite negotiation experts – Adam Galinsky at the Kellogg School of Management – recommends negotiating with our heads rather than our hearts.
In Why it pays to get inside the head of your opponent, Galinksy explains, Perspective-taking . . . involves understanding and anticipating an opponent’s interests, thoughts, and likely behaviors, whereas empathy focuses mostly on sympathy and compassion for another.
“Because our competitive natures (“I need my stuff to survive”) will almost always trump our collaborative inclinations (“we need each other to survive”). “
