Anyone using Getting To Yes for Negotiations?

Negotiation: A discussion intended to produce an agreement

When my mom died I inherited a modest house in a small Midwestern town, which I've put on the market. We have a buyer and the contract's been signed, but up pops an abutting neighbor who says some landscaping is on his property. Ugh! Naturally I'd like to resolve this quickly and fairly. Realizing my negotiating skills are nil (hey, I'm good at identifying and rectifying personality flaws ;-) I decided to read the classic book on negotiating, Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In. Fortunately it was on my candidates bookshelf [1] and was able to skim it [2] for the main ideas [3].

I'm curious...

• Do you have experience using the method?
• In which situations did you apply it?
• What was your experience like?
• How'd it turn out?
• Any tips for newbies?

So far I'm excited about trying it, and I'm working to keep it light via engaging my curiosity. I'm in the middle (you can follow the story on Edison), but, regardless of the outcome, the ideas have shifted my thinking, which is a gift. Happy negotiating!

References

• [1] See A Reading Workflow Based On Leveen's "Little Guide".
• [2] See How To Read A Lot Of Books In A Short Time for techniques, including great ones in the extensive comments.
• [3] For GTY resources, start with the Wikipedia entry, this summary, or Luciano Passuello's mindmap. My take-away was the method's process. From Core Negotiation Concepts: GTY is a method centered around four considerations (PIOC):
  • People: Separate people from the problem
  • Interests: Focus on interests, not positions (interests always underlie positions)
  • Options: Generate a variety of possibilities before deciding what to do
  • Criteria: Insist that the result be based on objective standards