As negotiators, every time that we go into a negotiation, we are  optimistic that we are going to use our negotiation styles and  negotiating techniques to be successful. 

We believe that we’re going to  be able to work with the other side of the table and come up with a deal  that both sides can live with. This kind of optimism is important to  providing us with the drive to keep moving forward even when things can  get tough. However, we all understand that sometimes negotiations don’t work out.  There have been some pretty spectacular failures. 

From a negotiator  point of view, these failures can teach us a great deal about how to  make sure that our next negotiation is a success.