Acknowledgments

I didn’t know how hard it would be to write a business-oriented book until I sat down and actually started writing a business-oriented book. Some things I guess you just have to learn by experience. I do know that if the right people hadn’t done the right things and created the right environment along the way, I’d either still be writing (probably somewhere in Chapter 2) or I would have abandoned the project altogether and moved along to more challenging things—like watching TV. I was blessed to have the perfect combination of smart, generous, and giving people placed in my path to make this book possible.

Thank goodness for good friends like John and M.J. Raymer. You realized how hard it was for me to concentrate on writing a book at home with all the day-to-day distractions and an active two-year-old running amok, and offered to let me use your beautiful, historic home in Valparaiso, Florida. While you were away during the day at work, your home became my perfect writing retreat. Pages started flying, not crawling. The incredible view of Choctawhatchee Bay from your lanai became my daily motivation. Thanks, John and M.J. Everyone should be blessed with friends like you.

Thanks to my long-time friend Stephanie Granger. Although you didn’t have to, you took time from setting your own business world on fire not only to discuss ideas with me and give me encouragement, but to provide a much-needed technical review of my manuscript. You made sure the whole thing made sense. Thanks, Steph. You’re wonderful.

Thanks to my teaching colleagues and friends at Management Concepts. I don’t think you can find a more intelligent collection of human beings on the planet. Your willingness to give me advice and wisdom kept me going. Thanks especially to Tom DeAngelis and Bill Hamm—we make quite a team!

Thanks to the entire staff of the Wyndham City Center Hotel in Washington, DC. My teaching schedule made this my home-away-from-home for many weeks, and a good part of this book was written in various rooms at the Wyndham. You knew me by name, knew I was writing a book, and went way above what anyone could have possibly expected in extending me every courtesy. Thanks for the special care—you’re all awesome!

Thanks to the publishing team at Management Concepts, especially to Myra Strauss and Jack Knowles. Your patience with a wet-behind-the-ears author was long suffering. You said the book would be harder to write and take longer than I expected. I confidently said, “Nah.” Guess who was right? Thanks for your guidance and toleration.

Thanks to the authors of all the negotiating books I have read in the past. The collective skills I have picked up throughout the years from reading your works can’t help but be reflected in this book. Although I have never met you, special thanks to Roger Fisher and William Ury, Ron Shapiro and Mark Jankowski, Roger Dawson, and Herb Cohen. All readers of this book would be crazy not to have copies of your works, which I have cited in Appendix A, Recommended Reading. I honor your wisdom and success.

Thanks to my students—all of you. You have allowed me to use the podium as a crucible to test ideas and have given me crucial feedback about every aspect of negotiation. You had to be there; I was privileged to be there. Thanks.

Finally, thanks to my beautiful wife, Jill. Baby, I couldn’t have done this without your constant love, praise, patience, and support. You are the absolute epitome of the perfect Southern lady, and you’ve made me the luckiest man alive. Shmily!