Category: Uncategorized

  • Negotiations across cultures: To make or not to make the first offer?

    Every day, most of us interact with several people from unfamiliar cultures. In many of our cross-cultural interactions, our inclination is to tread carefully, lest we commit an unwitting cultural faux pas. In a word, many of us act tentatively across cultures. In general, that’s a good thing, reflecting a genuine desire to avoid offense…

  • Reactive devaluation and reverse psychology: Or, how to get the house clean

    Hurricane Joaquin may have missed the East Coast. But if you have a small kid, then Hurricane [small kid’s name] probably hits often. Keeping a house clean with a small child around seems impossible. And without the child’s assistance, it probably is. But a thoughtful approach can elicit said assistance and make even this mess…

  • Are the best negotiators just like Trump?

    Since it’s election season and Donald Trump often pins his qualifications on his negotiation prowess, this post will depart from my normal focus on solving everyday problems. Instead, I’d like to explore the qualities of the very best negotiators, comparing and contrasting them with the Trump persona we all know well. I hope you’ll forgive…