Our Answers Come from Real-Life Stories

Negotiating with Giants tells the stories of dozens of smaller players who get what they want from their Goliaths. The lessons from their journeys can be applied to our own negotiations today, whoever our giant happens to be. I’ve given a name to these smaller players who achieve their success through giant negotiations: I call them Size Wizards, because they know how to make themselves bigger and stronger, their giants smaller and weaker, and their opportunities much greater than they’d otherwise be.

As I take you on a whirlwind tour of both current and historic events, we’ll look over the shoulders of these Size Wizards, watching them execute the same quartet of defensive and offensive strategies. We’ll learn from them, whether their lessons come from business, politics, education, health, entertainment or sports.

Among those we’ll meet: entrepreneurs Jesse Rasch and a young Bill Gates; writers Harriet Beecher Stowe, Rachel Carson and Ida Tarbell; statesmen Ben Franklin and Nelson Mandela; social activists Emmeline Pankhurst and Rosa Parks; whistleblower Cynthia Cooper; Magna Carta rebel Robert FitzWalter; Internet rebel Carl Oppedahl; consumer Lucia Pacifico; coach Bill Belichick; parent Pamela MacKenzie; entertainers David Letterman and Courtney Cox; and photographer Lewis Hine.

I’ve gathered the stories of these Size Wizards, and others, from a wide range of sources including my smaller clients and contacts with first-hand knowledge. In some cases, I’ve changed the names of certain Size Wizards and any circumstances that might lead to their being identified. One entrepreneur called me at the last moment, telling me his wife didn’t want his name used because she feared the money they’d earned could make their children a target for kidnappers. More commonly though, these Size Wizards fear their giants. Giants are notorious for “encouraging” smaller players to keep their success stories to themselves, frequently getting them to sign “gag clauses” aimed at guaranteeing their silence―one of the reasons this book hasn’t been written before now.

It feels good to be inspired by a story or a new idea, but given the stakes and immense challenges in our giant negotiations, we need more than inspiration. We need concrete answers. At the end of every Size Wizard’s story, I’ll share my analysis and provide bullet-point advice so you can tailor each story’s unique lessons to your own circumstances. We’ll plunge into these richly detailed stories after our opening chapter has revealed the time-honored habits, helping hands and strategies employed by successful smaller players throughout the centuries.