You Can Negotiate Anything Review: Cohen's Tactics, Tested

Most people treat a price tag like a law of nature. Herb Cohen's whole book is a push against that habit.

You Can Negotiate Anything came out in 1980 and is still on many shelves. Cohen writes like a loud, funny uncle at a family dinner: a story, a punch line, a rule. He says negotiation is everywhere: your boss, your bank, your landlord, a hotel clerk. And he says people lose mainly because they feel the other side has more power, time and information than they do.

We read it against Getting to Yes and Never Split the Difference. Cohen is the most street-smart of the three, and the least careful about proof.

The book in 5 points

1. Almost everything is negotiable. Cohen defines negotiation as "the use of information and power to affect behavior within a 'web of tension'" (Ch 1). A sign, a form or a printed rate was made by people, so people can change it. He asks three questions before you try: am I comfortable, will it meet my need, is it worth the time?

2. Three variables run every deal: power, time and information. He says all three live mostly in perception. What counts is what each side believes the other can do. That is his central claim, and also his shakiest.

3. Time and investment bend the deal. Most concessions arrive near the deadline, so hide yours and look for theirs. The more time and effort the other side has already put into you, the harder it is for them to walk away. This is the root of his "nibble": a small extra ask at the very end.

4. Know the Win-Lose style, then prefer Win-Win. He describes a hard bargaining style (extreme demands, "limited authority", slow concessions) so you can see it and stop it working. His preferred style is to find the real need under the demand, build trust early and avoid making enemies.

5. In practice: move up, personalise, write it down. If a clerk says no, go to someone who can decide. Ask as a person, not as a number. After the talk, write the memo of agreement, because whoever writes the record shapes it.

DiagramCohen's three variables

Cohen's three variables. Style (Win-Win over Win-Lose tricks) and a written record turn them into a deal that lasts.

What it gets right

It asks for the need and the clock before you speak. The stated demand is rarely the whole need. A boss who says "no budget" may be worried about precedent, or about how the team will react. Cohen's habit of asking what the other side really needs, and when their pressure peaks, is the most useful thing in the book. It overlaps with the Harvard authors' "interests", and it supports Know Your End First. Rule: before any talk, write their need and their deadline next to yours.

It treats options as power. His fourteen sources of power include competition, options and attitude, and he adds a test: ask whether losing this deal would end your life. If not, you can care without needing it. That is Keep Your Options in plain words. The person who needs the deal less sets the terms, and you can lower your own need by building a second path before you sit down.

It gets you past people who cannot say yes. Many fights are wasted on a clerk with no authority. Cohen says to go up the ladder, politely and with the clerk's name in your pocket, until you reach someone who can decide. Then write down the result. These are small, boring habits, and they decide many deals. Here is the thing: most people skip the memo because it feels rude, and then argue later about what was promised.

Where it breaks

Claim: all power is perception. Test: the summary of the book calls this too strong, and I agree. Money, law and force do not vanish when you stop believing in them. A landlord with a signed contract has real leverage. Belief shapes a lot of bargaining, but not all of it. Better rule: treat perception as one lever, then check the hard facts: contract terms, alternatives, who can really decide.

Claim: hide your deadline, signal a limit, use a sad story. Test: Cohen asks for trust and Win-Win, and then teaches moves that depend on the other person not knowing the truth. He never draws the line between keeping private and bluffing. One bluff found out can end a relationship you needed. Better rule: keep your deadline private, but never state a false one. Share your real reasons, and keep your walk-away to yourself. This is where Integrity Compounds matters: a trick is a loan at a poor rate.

Claim: the stories prove it. Test: nearly every proof is Cohen's own story, told by the winner and probably from memory. There are no counts of how often the tactics failed, and the few figures in the book have no source on the page. One good tale shows a move is possible, not that it is likely. Better rule: try a tactic once in a low-stakes deal, watch what happens, and then decide.

Two smaller limits. The book fits one-shot deals best: fixed prices, call centres and long partnerships limit most of his tricks, and he says little about them. And it is from 1980, with landlines, one "Soviet" style and male defaults. Email, text and online price comparison are not in it.

A real-world check

The strongest ideas need no trick at all. Notice how they work in a plain office case.

Your callWhat would you do?

You want a refund on a service plan. The first person you reach says, "Policy says no."

1. Plead hard and say you cannot afford it, even though you can.

   Weaker move. Lever 9 is at risk. An invented sad story may work once, but it costs trust, and Lever 3 says to expect the other side to try it too.

2. Ask politely who can approve an exception, then explain your real reason to that person and note the name and date.

   Strongest move. Lever 8 and Lever 2. You go to the person who can say yes, you know what you want, and you keep a record.

3. Accept the answer, since the policy is printed and printed things do not change.

   Weaker move. Lever 8 is missing. Cohen's point is that printed rules were made by people, and a polite request up the ladder costs very little.

How to use it without becoming a jerk

Lever map

Who should read it

Read next

• Getting to Yes review: the calmer, fairer method, with the BATNA idea.
• Negotiation Guide: the methods in one practical plan.
• Best Negotiation Books: where Cohen sits among the others.

Questions people ask

What are the three variables in You Can Negotiate Anything?

Power, time and information. Cohen says all three live mostly in perception, so you usually have more of each than you think, and the other side has less.

Is You Can Negotiate Anything still worth reading?

Parts of it, yes. The habits of finding the other side's real need and their deadline hold up. The book is from 1980, leans on the author's own stories, and says little about email or online prices.

What is the nibble?

The nibble is a small extra request made at the very end of a deal, after the other side has already put in a lot of time. Know it so you can spot it, and think twice before using it on someone you will deal with again.

You Can Negotiate Anything or Getting to Yes?

Getting to Yes is the better base for preparation and fair deals. Cohen is the better read for attitude, deadlines and getting past a clerk with no authority. Use both, and trust neither one blindly.

Sources: You Can Negotiate Anything; Getting to Yes; Never Split the Difference. Ideas summarised in our own words.