[bravura]

Is it just me, or does the following quote suggest that Harper-Collins was strongly outleveraged in the negotiation, regardless of Jobs's negotiating skill?

"Apple is the only other company currently capable of making a serious impact, and we have 4 of the 6 big publishers signed up already. Once we open things up for the second tier of publishers, we will have plenty of books to offer. We’d love to have HC among them."

If Harper-Collins was a "second-tier" publisher, and 4 of the 6 biggest publishers already agreed to these terms, did Harper-Collins really have much wiggle room?

[ScottBurson]

Yes, this was my takeaway too. Negotiating is easy, or certainly a lot easier, from a position of strength.

The subtlety, though, is that sometimes it's about creating the illusion of strength, or even of future strength, when the present reality doesn't fully demonstrate that strength. Jobs did that masterfully here.

[abraininavat]

The subtlety, though, is that sometimes it's about creating the illusion of strength, or even of future strength, when the present reality doesn't fully demonstrate that strength. Jobs did that masterfully here.

I'm confused. You agree with the parent that Apple was in a position of leverage, then you suggest the subtlety is that sometimes it's about creating the illusion of strength.

Either the position of leverage was an illusion or it wasn't. Maybe Jobs was a master at gaining leverage by creating an illusion of strength, but (if you agree with the parent) this isn't a good example of it. This was someone who had leverage acting as if he had leverage.