How To Win A Negotiation In Hollywood, Wall Street Or Main Street

Success is life on your own terms and Hollywood lawyer Jeff Cohen says his book The Dealmaker’s Ten Commandments is a methodology for figuring out what the terms are for yourself and then getting them. ‘This is not necessarily a feel good book,’ says Cohen, who started in the entertainment business as a child star in films like ‘The Goonies’. ‘It’s about how deals get made and it can be very dark stuff.’ Dark indeed. In fact, Cohen based his book on Niccolo Machiavelli’s textbook for grabbing and holding power, ‘The Prince‘. Cohen even tips his cap to Machiavelli in his first commandment: ‘It is better to be loved than feared.’ ‘The deal-maker needs to create a situation where they are in control. Fear is something you can control. Love is something you cannot,’ says Cohen. ‘So it is better to create a system that you can control and that mechanism is fear.’ Cohen says his experience as an entertainment lawyer is how his dealmaking commandments came into existence. However, he says they are broad enough to be applicable for any businessperson.