ABSTRACT
Many artists and creatives have worked out that they are much better served in a negotiation if an agent does it for them. The basic stages of negotiation are preparing the background, imagining alternatives, reviewing options and reaching an agreement. A couple of the most famous writers on negotiation, Fisher and Ury, the authors of Getting to Yes remind us to separate the people from the problem by which they mean that arts managers have to disentangle substantive issues from the relationship issues around emotions, communications, trust and understanding. Writers on negotiation usually focus on strategy and tactics: how to frame a first offer, identifying alternatives, making counteroffers and so on. Although the best outcome in negotiations is supposed to be "win-win", there is an art to reaching a compromise which doesn't have to be a betrayal of values or lead to a sense of failure.
