---
id: "quote-guardrails-never-happen"
type: "quote"
source_timestamps: ["¶8"]
tags: ["guardrails", "live-negotiation"]
related: ["concept-guardrails-trap", "claim-guardrails-fail"]
speaker: "Anonymous lead negotiator"
quote: "winning a deal within the tight guardrails \\\\\\\"never happens.\\\\\\\""
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"
---
# The Failure of Guardrails

> Winning a deal within the tight guardrails "never happens."
> — Anonymous lead negotiator

An unnamed lead negotiator describing the impracticality of preapproved corporate guardrails in live, competitive negotiations. It is the field testimony behind the [[concept-guardrails-trap]] and [[claim-guardrails-fail]]. (No entity note is emitted because the speaker is anonymous and not in the source's named-speaker set.)