The Negotiation Blog

I’m Dan Green, blogger/podcaster, entrepreneur, documentary film producer, facilitator and negotiation specialist.  Aka- wearer of many proverbial hats, who doesn’t look good in actual hats.  Seriously, my head is shaped like an egg, and eggs can’t wear hats. I write about negotiation and conflict management.  But before you read on, I’ve got to warn you:  I am not a naturally skilled negotiator.  In fact, I think I was born the world’s WORST negotiator. I’m not being modest.

Put it this way, from the time I was 6 to 8 years old, I saved over a thousand dollars to buy a horse.  Back in the 80’s that was a lot of odd (and often unpleasant) jobs, so it should tell you how badly I wanted that horse.   When I had enough money saved and the negotiations around purchasing logistics began, my Mom asked me if I would settle for a dog.  3 days later as I was walking my new apricot coloured french poodle around the neighbourhood, I might have LOOKED like the coolest kid on the block, but I was sans one horse. Things didn’t seem to improve with age.  When negotiating an offer for my dream summer job in University the hiring manager actually said to me “you seem like you really don’t want to work here”.  Needless to say, I didn’t get a call back.

I could go on, but hopefully you get an idea of just how much natural negotiation ability I was born with. Fast forward to today:  I fly around the world training and advising senior executives and governments how to negotiate and manage disputes.  I’ve been able to help people all over the world on some of the most challenging and fascinating conflicts and negotiations there are.  I’ve gone from working with guerrilla groups in Colombia, to negotiating death threats from the Russian mafia, to coaching C-level executives on deals worth as much as 400 million USD.

More importantly, I have used the same skills to build personal relationships with influential people in my own life, start and grow my own business and even convince the odd lady or two to go against better judgment and enter into a romantic relationship with me (admittedly, some were more odd than others).  Full Disclosure though:  I never did get that horse. The fact that I have become known as an “expert” in this field is proof that negotiation, and managing conflict are skills that ANYBODY can improve.

The question is not if but how you can become significantly better at these core business and life skills.  Thenegotiationblog.com attempts to answer that. ConMan Talk (Conflict Management Talk) does much of the same thing in podcast form.  I write and podcast to boil down everything I have learned through my work into simple, practical concepts.  My hope is that the ideas you find here will help you reach the next level in your work and personal life. Make sure you get on the email list so that you don’t miss a thing.