Neediness loses negotiations

Brand & Marketing

This is connected with the art of negotiation. The game theorist John Nash demonstrated that protagonists bargain more effectively when they are less needy. The less you fear not getting what you want, the more likely you are to get what you want. The logical conclusion follows: in any negotiation, your best strategy is an internal as well as external question. Can you ‘will’ yourself into a state of relative indifference, and thereby negate anxiety-induced neediness?

Behavioural principles

Behavioural ideas at play in this post

Short, plain-English explanations of the principles behind this post, with links to related books and examples in the archive.

Anchoring

The first number or idea we encounter pulls later judgments toward it.

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Contrast effect

We judge things relative to nearby alternatives, not in isolation.

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Overconfidence effect

We are often more certain than the evidence really allows.

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Neediness loses negotiations

Behavioural ideas at play in this post

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