Iran: US doesn't have much to brag about

Just imagine, the Iranians asked for more prisoners and more money than the Obama administration gave them. Secretary of State John Kerry was boastful of the fact that Iran didn’t get everything it originally wanted.

My wife negotiated multimillion-dollar contracts, and I negotiated union contracts during our working lives. Negotiation 101 teaches that each side initially asks for more than they expect to get.

Prior to negotiation, determine a strategy. Then determine what you must have, what you would like to have and what you do not want. Anticipate the other side’s needs and wants and how you will deal with them. Then the negotiation begins, with each side relinquishing some of their initial requests, until an agreement is reached.

Apparently Kerry didn’t take Negotiation 101, because he gleefully claimed that Iran didn’t get all it wanted. That’s why it is called a negotiation.

This story was originally published January 19, 2016 at 12:44 PM with the headline "Iran: US doesn't have much to brag about."