How Difference Intelligence Strengthens Joint Problem-Solving Negotiation
Getting to yes when it counts
The method: for more than four decades, Getting to Yes has given negotiators a clear way to work. Focus on interests, invent options for mutual gain, use fair standards, and know your alternatives. Many experienced negotiators know it well, and many have been trained in it.
The challenge: the principles work. But some moments, when the stakes rise or the other side pushes hard, call for a very high level of underlying skill to stay on track. Those moments are becoming more common. In a 2026 study of more than 400 leaders, 42 percent of deals were reported as adversarial, up from 29 percent in 2018.
What gets in the way: four predictable patterns we call landmines (certainty, inconsistency, reactivity, and justification) pull capable people back toward positions and haggling.
What helps: our book, All the Difference, was written about difference inside organizations, not about negotiation. But its six target actions, from knowing yourself to committing to action, give negotiators practical language and tools for staying on track when it is hardest to do.
What it takes: Difference Intelligence™, the individual and organizational capability to tap into difference of all kinds to bridge perspectives, strengthen teams, and create value. At the negotiating table, it helps people keep solving problems jointly when the differences are sharpest.