A Question of Why In negotiation, What your counterpart wants is important. Far more important is Why they want it and which Results they are looking for, short, middle and longer term. The What is the demand of your counterpart. The Why is the reason behind the What. The Result is the goal(s) of the Why. Harvard Negotiation Project founders Roger Fisher and Bill Ury have found over the last 40 years, that the What exists because it is one way your counterpart thinks he can reach his Why. There are almost always several possible ways to satisfy the Why. Generating and exploring other options, or combinations of options can be a powerful way to work together with your counterpart and help them get what they really want. If you can understand and make progress towards satisfying your counterpart's Why and help them reach their Result(s), the What becomes unimportant. And that means the likelihood of reaching a more satisfying negotiation result greatly increases...for everybody. Want