At Northeastern University's D'Amore-McKim School of Business, the journey from a simple red paperclip to high-value trades is more than just a negotiation exercise—it's a transformative experience. Rooted in the story of Kyle MacDonald, who traded a single paperclip for a house over 14 trades, the school's “Negotiating in Business” course turns theory into practice, challenging students to think creatively, adapt to real-world scenarios, and embrace the art of human connection.
D'Amore-McKim Associate Teaching Professor Sarah Woodside, begins the project with a single red paperclip. Over five weeks, student teams of four must trade it for items of increasing value, navigating diverse environments like campus clubs, online marketplaces, and community events. Each trade requires innovative thinking, strategic communication, and an ability to discern the unique, subjective value of every item. By the end of the class, students report an array of successes: from a RipStik traded to a skateboard enthusiast to a surround sound system, MacBook, and flatscreen TV.
Experiential learning in action
“This project threw us into the real world. There was no guide on how to do it right,” says Khushi Shah, KHOURY/DMSB'25. “We had to get creative. Each trade taught us something new, and with every step, we honed our strategies.”
This hands-on approach exemplifies the school's commitment to experience-powered learning. Students don't just learn negotiation techniques—they put them into practice while navigating the unpredictable dynamics of actual business interactions. Along the way, they build resilience, adaptability, and confidence in working through complex scenarios.
Woodside knows that reciprocity, creativity, curiosity, and relationships go a long way in management. Rather than lecturing on it, she pushes students to experience it firsthand. “Negotiation is all about understanding your counterpart's true needs and thinking creatively about how to meet them,” says Woodside. “This is such an important lesson about leadership – if you ask what the other person needs, whether it's a product, help, connection, what have you – and can help them get it, they'll be much more willing to reciprocate, to the benefit of both parties.”
A people-centered approach to negotiation
More than just trading goods, the course emphasizes the importance of human connection. Students are encouraged to understand the needs, interests, and perspectives of their counterparts. “The most valuable lesson I learned is that people are the key to any negotiation,” Shah reflects. “Every successful trade came down to relationships, and that's not something you can learn from a lecture.”
The emphasis on relationship-building mirrors D'Amore-McKim's value to cultivate purpose-driven leaders. By prioritizing curiosity and empathy, students learn that negotiation is not just about exchanging value but creating it collaboratively.
Preparing leaders to make tomorrow's impact
The course culminates in an award ceremony where accolades for various strengths are handed out to students based on points assigned by their peers in the class. It's an extra incentive to invest effort into the project, but grading isn't related to the awards or even to the monetary value of their final item. Success in the project, instead, is found through a student's ability to draw insights from the experience and connect them to negotiation terms and concepts in a paper and presentation. Similar to life, sometimes the best lessons and projects come from teams encountering the most difficulty in their negotiations.
Woodside recently received the school's annual Teaching Innovation and Excellence award for her innovative teaching work, specifically her “Consultathon,” which connects students with alumni who present real business challenges from companies such as McKinsey and Amazon. Students complete three one-week consulting projects addressing authentic problems such as leadership gaps during team expansion and return-to-office morale issues. Woodside encourages her students to wrestle with ambiguity—reflecting the uncertain nature of business where solutions must be well-reasoned rather than simply “correct.” The consulting rounds simultaneously build analytical skills while fostering valuable student-alumni connections.
Courses like the ones taught by Woodside highlight D'Amore-McKim's dedication to preparing students for the complexities of modern business. By simulating serious, real-world challenges, the course equips future leaders with the tools they need to succeed in an ever-changing landscape—where the stakes may be higher than a paperclip, but the principles remain the same.