 Leigh Steinberg is one of the top sports agents in the country responsible for negotiating very large sums for the professional athletes he represents, such notable players as Drew Beldsoe, Troy Aikman, Steve Young and Warren Moon. The movie Jerry Maguire contains many details based upon Leigh Steinberg's style and career. If you don't have the luxury of a close mentor relationship to help you hone your negotiating skills, this is a good book to read.
If you like sports, you will no doubt enjoy the stories about the sports stars and the owners and what the issues are for the high-flying careers of the super-talented. However, that is not the main focus of this book. This book is about the process of negotiation as a cooperative person to person exchange. If you are not that into sports, it doesn't effect the primary value of the book, which is that it gives you a chance to be coached in the process of negotiation by someone who has had over twenty-four years of experience in some very heated and high profile deals. Leigh Steinberg is not advocating an approach to deal making that simply chalks up conquests. He is interested instead in pursuing win-win scenarios and in thinking creatively to get beyond stalemates and deadlocks. The advice contained in this book is particularly helpful in the ways that it breaks down the deal making process into manageable stages and offers practical advice on how to prepare for what you might encounter at each step, whether it is the need to face down an angry adversary screaming at you, or just the simple need to anticipate how being hungry or sleepy might affect the overall pace of the conversation.
We particularly like the structure of the book which takes you through the process of deciding on your goals, the preparation to undertake before you enter into negotiations, the positioning of your particular view of the deal, the negotiation itself, and the process of reaching a deal and closing on a note that allows you to establish long term relationships. In each section, and at the end of the book, key points are reinforced to make for a quick refresher course before you head into the car dealership or the boss' office to ask for a raise.
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