---
id: "quote-give-them-none"
type: "quote"
source_timestamps: ["§ Don't Give Negotiators Decision Authority"]
tags: ["empowerment", "authority"]
related: ["contrarian-zero-authority", "claim-zero-authority-empowers"]
speaker: "Danny Ertel"
speakers: ["Danny Ertel"]
quote: "It may seem counterintuitive, but the way to empower negotiators to do better at the table is not to give them more authority but to give them none."
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"
---
# Empowerment through Zero Authority

> "It may seem counterintuitive, but the way to empower negotiators to do better at the table is not to give them more authority but to give them none."
> — [[entity-danny-ertel|Danny Ertel]]

The article's core contrarian thesis on negotiator authority, expanded in [[contrarian-zero-authority]] and [[claim-zero-authority-empowers]] and operationalized by [[action-strip-commitment-authority]]. Note (per enrichment) this is a contrarian *hypothesis* backed by case experience, not an empirically validated best practice — mainstream training argues for *some* real authority to preserve credibility.