‘Why doesn’t he use a spoon?’ is a guide on how to negotiate successfully in international business in the 21^st century.

Books on commercial negotiation are either written by academics keen to promulgate the results of their latest research or by business people who want to recount their ‘war stories’ from the negotiation battlefield. This book takes the research which is relevant to the international negotiator and adds the authors’ own negotiating experience.

What are the main messages of this book?

·         Win-win is not the same as let’s compromise. As a negotiator you should be trying to get the best possible deal for your side.

·         Always look for creative solutions, rather than just sticking to your original position.

·         Prepare yourself thoroughly and keep testing your assumptions by asking questions, a much underrated and underused skill.

·         Adapt your negotiation strategy, your behaviour and your communication style to suit the people you are dealing with and the culture they come from.

·         Negotiating can be fun.

Between them over the last 35 years, the authors have been on either the sales or buying side of the negotiating table in more than 30 different countries on five continents. For much of that time, they have also worked as trainers of negotiation skills to suppliers and buyers from a wide range of international companies. Throughout the book, the authors refer to examples of real business negotiations, as well as a realistic, though made-up, negotiation between two fictional companies.