Case Studies
Real-World Win-Win: Case Studies from Business Negotiations
Abstract frameworks are useful. Watching them applied in actual deals is more useful. Three cases where win-win thinking unlocked better outcomes.
9 min read
Case Studies
9 articles 
Case Studies
Case Study: The Microsoft-Nokia Deal and the Dangers of One-Sided Negotiation
Microsoft acquired Nokia's phone business for $7.2 billion in 2013 and wrote down $7.6 billion just two years later. The deal shows how winning negotiation terms too decisively can destroy the value you were trying to capture.
6 min read
Case Studies
Case Study: How the Camp David Accords Used Principled Negotiation to Broker Peace
The 1978 Camp David Accords are the textbook example of principled negotiation, but the real lesson is procedural: Jimmy Carter restructured the talks so neither leader had to publicly concede before they had privately agreed.
6 min read
Case Studies
Case Study: How Apple vs. Samsung Teaches Us About Escalation of Commitment
Apple's seven-year patent war with Samsung cost over $1 billion in legal fees on each side and never stopped Samsung's rise. The case is a textbook study in escalation of commitment and how to structure negotiations to avoid it.
5 min read
Case Studies
Case Study: Real Estate Negotiation Gone Wrong (And the Lessons It Teaches)
A Bay Area buyer lost a $55,000 deposit and a seller eventually netted $130,000 less than a renegotiation would have produced. The case shows how both sides can be legally right and economically wrong in the same transaction.
6 min read
Case Studies
Case Study: The 2024 Boeing Machinists Strike and the Cost of Delayed Concessions
Boeing eventually settled its 2024 machinists strike at roughly what the union signaled in August, but only after losing $5 billion in cash flow over 53 days. The case shows the brutal arithmetic of delayed concessions in repeated-game negotiations.
6 min read
Case Studies
Case Study: Union vs. Management—What Labor Negotiations Reveal About Interests
The 2023 UAW strike looked like a wage negotiation but was really about dismantling the tier system that had eroded union power for fifteen years. Labor cases expose how positions and interests diverge in any high-stakes negotiation.
7 min read
Case Studies
Case Study: Salary Negotiation That Added $30K—A Step-by-Step Breakdown
A senior PM turned a $185K base offer into a $215K base plus accelerated vesting and a structured promotion path. The step-by-step breakdown shows what actually moves recruiters in modern tech offer negotiations.
7 min read
Case Studies
Case Study: How Spotify's Licensing Deals Redefined Artist Negotiation
Spotify's original licensing deals were negotiated between the platform and the labels, not the artists. The case study reveals what happens when the parties at the table aren't the parties whose economics are most affected.
7 min read