Herb Cohen Quotes

“You and I do not see things as they are. We see things as we are.”

“No' is a reaction, not a position. The people who react negatively to your proposal simply need time to evaluate it and adjust their thinking. With the passage of sufficient time and repeated efforts on your part, almost every 'no' can be transformed into a 'maybe' and eventually a 'yes'.”

“Most of us, in our civilized society, rely too heavily on reasoning capacity to make things happen. We've been raised to believe that logic will prevail. Logic, in and of itself, will rarely influence people. Most often logic doesn't work.”

“In short, you have more power if you believe you have power and view your life's encounters as negotiations.”

“The "winners" seem to be people who not only are competent, but also have the ability to "negotiate" their way to get what they want.”

“To successfully interact with any individual in any setup, all you have to do is determine his or her needs, then fulfill them.”

“Negotiation is a field of knowledge and endeavor that focuses on gaining the favor of people from whom we want things. It's as simple as that.”

“The secret of walking on water is knowing where the stones are.”

“Information. The other side seems to know more about you and your needs than you know about them and their needs.”

“Time. The other side doesn't seem to be under the same kind of organizational pressure, time constraints, and restrictive deadlines you feel you're under.”