Negotiate Anything Win Yourself First — Then Win the Deal
Mar 7, 2026
Kasia Gudzinska, negotiation trainer, consultant and academic (author of The Financial Times Guide to High Impact Negotiation). She explains why managing your inner state comes before strategy. She outlines crafting a negotiation mission, balancing transactional and relational goals, and the VCR visualization technique to rebuild confidence. Short, practical tools for high-pressure, cross-cultural, multi-party talks.
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Use Rose Thorn Bud For Clear Check Ins
- Use Rose Thorn Bud to structure check-ins and surface positives, negatives, and emerging opportunities quickly.
- Daniel describes using it with his wife and coaching clients to create equality and focused, actionable conversation parameters.
Mental Models Organize Negotiation Chaos
- Mental models reduce cognitive load by breaking complex situations into familiar shapes like ZOPA or the Eisenhower matrix.
- Daniel explains mental models let negotiators reframe problems and notice unseen structure under the surface.
Make Introspection A Meeting Agenda Item
- Build silence and journaling into meetings so participants have time for inner conversation before sharing.
- Daniel recommends timed solo reflection (e.g., two minutes) to surface hopes, fears, roses, thorns, and buds before group dialogue.
