I am Phil Marcus, and I am the founder and principal of The Negotiation Pro.
Years ago, I earned my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering from the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology. While you may wonder how one trained in engineering chooses to become a negotiation professional, it’s simple.
You see, MIT grads, regardless of specialty, are trained to relentlessly seek the facts, ask the right questions, listen carefully to the answers, and analyze all the information completely and impartially.
It’s probably no surprise, therefore, to learn that after my MIT education, I taught at colleges in Virginia and Maryland, and then obtained a law degree (J.D.) from the University of Maryland.
A legal career of some fifteen years focused on the various problems of small businesses and involved negotiating countless agreements.
Becoming inactive for a time from practicing law, I started an independent consulting company, in January 1989, focusing primarily on software development and training, as well as start-up business counseling.
Besides having my own business experiences, my consulting experience has made me intimately aware of the various business problems facing small businesses and non-profits.
A common thread among them all proved to be a business opportunity that matched my negotiation skills with my business experience. All organizations, at some point, are faced with opportunities or disputes requiring a strategic approach to reaching a goal. Often negotiation is required to ensure a favorable outcome. That’s how I came to start The Negotiation Pro.
I decided to fill a void in the market—a void left by conventional law firms and the do-it-yourself negotiators—by starting The Negotiation Pro. This new company allowed me to combine my interests, experiences, skills, and passion for helping the “little guy,” to basically create the field of business negotiation.
The office is in Columbia, Maryland's second largest city, located between Baltimore and D.C.In addition to my business world, there have always been other facets to my life. I have two children; my daughter is an auto technician and my son is a college professor. I am married, and my wife and I have two cats.
I also have given my time, skills and experience to the community, serving the boards of six organizations. These include serving on the board of directors for a civic corporation of about 100,000 members and over a $50,000,000 annual budget. I also held the position of Board president for two homeowner associations , two professional organizations, and a start-up community federal credit union.
