Herb Cohen Books
Herb Cohen is an American negotiation expert, consultant, and author known for his practical and humorous approach to negotiation. He has advised major corporations, government agencies, and served as a consultant in high-stakes international negotiations.
Known for: You Can Negotiate Anything
Books by Herb Cohen
You Can Negotiate Anything
Herb Cohen’s You Can Negotiate Anything is one of the most enduring guides to negotiation ever written because it makes a bold claim that still feels fresh: negotiation is not a special activity reserved for diplomats, executives, or lawyers. It is part of everyday life. Every time you ask for a better deal, try to influence a decision, settle a conflict, or persuade someone to see your point of view, you are negotiating. Cohen argues that success in these moments depends less on formal authority than on understanding human behavior. His central framework—people, power, and timing—shows readers how negotiations really work beneath the surface. What makes the book valuable is its practicality. Cohen writes with humor, vivid stories, and a deep grasp of real-world pressure, showing how small choices in attitude, language, and preparation can dramatically change outcomes. His authority comes not only from theory but from years of advising corporations, government bodies, and participants in high-stakes negotiations. The result is a classic communication book that teaches readers how to become calmer, sharper, and more effective in business, relationships, and daily interactions.
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Everything Is a Negotiation
Most people think negotiation begins only when two sides sit at a table to discuss price, contracts, or disputes. Cohen challenges that assumption immediately. Negotiation is any process in which people with different needs try to reach agreement. That means it happens constantly: between manager an...
From You Can Negotiate Anything
People, Power, and Timing Matter Most
Negotiations rarely turn on logic alone. Cohen argues that outcomes are shaped by three interacting variables: people, power, and timing. This framework is the backbone of the book because it helps explain why a perfectly reasonable proposal can fail in one moment and succeed in another. When you un...
From You Can Negotiate Anything
Understand People Before You Push
The fastest way to weaken your position is to assume the other side is driven by the same motives you are. Cohen emphasizes that negotiations are human before they are transactional. People want to feel respected, safe, listened to, and important. They defend their identity as much as their interest...
From You Can Negotiate Anything
Power Is Often More Perceived Than Real
One of Cohen’s most liberating ideas is that power in negotiation is not fixed. People often surrender because the other side appears larger, richer, more official, or more certain. But apparent power and actual power are not the same thing. Power is frequently a matter of perception, and perception...
From You Can Negotiate Anything
Timing Can Decide the Entire Outcome
A strong argument delivered at the wrong moment can fail, while an average proposal delivered at the right moment can succeed. Cohen treats time as a strategic force, not just a scheduling detail. Deadlines, urgency, delay, patience, and momentum all affect how people behave. Under time pressure, ju...
From You Can Negotiate Anything
Care Deeply, But Never Desperately
People lose negotiations not only because they lack skill, but because they care too much in the wrong way. Cohen makes a subtle but powerful distinction: you should care about the outcome, prepare for it, and pursue it seriously—but you must not become emotionally trapped by needing this specific r...
From You Can Negotiate Anything
About Herb Cohen
Herb Cohen is an American negotiation expert, consultant, and author known for his practical and humorous approach to negotiation. He has advised major corporations, government agencies, and served as a consultant in high-stakes international negotiations.
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Herb Cohen is an American negotiation expert, consultant, and author known for his practical and humorous approach to negotiation. He has advised major corporations, government agencies, and served as a consultant in high-stakes international negotiations.
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