Harvard’s Top Negotiation Strategies: What I Learned (and You Should Too!)

Failure is a stepping stone towards success and a way for others; it’s just a change of perspective. Whoever failed in their life had the courage to try something new.

Harvard University is known for its MBA program and using real-life case studies to explain things in a better way. Here’s what I learned through the example of Canadian ice hockey player Derek Michael Sanderson, nicknamed Turk, widely known for his career in the NHL. He became famous as an athlete and for his remarkable financial rise and fall. He was one of the greatest players during his time; at the peak of his career, he was one of the highest-paid athletes.

This example made me realize two hard-earned points to remember during negotiation:

1. You should never negotiate against your worth.

2. The one who starts negotiation always loses the game.

 During one of the negotiations, he remained silent and didn’t utter a word. While the negotiating team kept on increasing the amount, he eventually got himself almost three times the price others had in mind. He leveraged market demand, long-term stability, and finance. Furthermore, he asked for other compensatory benefits like a sports car for every match, to pick someone, and similar other terms, which were not very common those days, and eventually they agreed to it. I hope you take the time to read it and get to know this incredible man, his talent, and his wisdom for how to handle yourself when you’re at your peak. I believe failures keep your spirits high and carve out roads made for leading. Focus on your worth and seek the knowledge to increase your value.

The higher the failure, the bigger the courage required to overcome it. Success is not merely hard or smart work or discipline but also a pinch of luck.