Author: briangunia

  • Asking more of our sales associates

    Most people try to spend as little time in a store as possible. If we can get into a store, find the desired product, and get out without ever talking to a sales associate, we would we ever dilly-dally? Well, that philosophy works well enough for most purchases. But I’m here to highlight the types…

  • Negotiation lessons from the safety patrol

    I recently volunteered to serve as safety patrolman for my neighborhood. In essence, this involved trolling around the neighborhood at night, making sure no one (i.e., no teenager) was breaking community rules (e.g., loitering at the community beach) or even breaking the law (e.g., defacing said beach). Since my duties tended to bring the community’s…

  • What, we agree? Compatible issues in a disagreeable world

    It sometimes seems that seething disagreements surround us. Crazy passengers punching out flight attendants, angry politicians launching invective, nasty comments following a nice news story about puppies and kittens. At times like these, it’s easy to forget that we actually agree with each other quite often. In negotiation-speak, we can easily lose sight of the…