---
id: "quote-couriers-not-dealmakers"
type: "quote"
source_timestamps: ["¶2"]
tags: ["agency-problem", "disempowerment"]
related: ["concept-agency-problem", "claim-internal-negotiation-dominates"]
speaker: "Danny Ertel"
speakers: ["Danny Ertel"]
quote: "Frontline negotiators often end up feeling more like couriers than dealmakers."
sources: ["ecosystem"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-ecosystem"
originDay: 11
articleStem: "hbr-nm-103-big-companies-negotiate-deals"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/01/why-big-companies-struggle-to-negotiate-great-deals"
sourceTitle: "Why Big Companies Struggle to Negotiate Great Deals"
---
# Negotiators as Couriers

> "Frontline negotiators often end up feeling more like couriers than dealmakers."
> — [[entity-danny-ertel|Danny Ertel]]

This captures the human cost of the [[concept-agency-problem]]: when authority is narrowly restricted, negotiators shuttle preapproved positions back and forth instead of solving problems at the table. It is the felt symptom of [[claim-internal-negotiation-dominates]] (more time spent negotiating internally than externally).