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Extreme Contracts Podcast

Extreme Contracts Podcast

By: Jacopo Romei
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 What if the most effective negotiation tactic is to stop negotiating?

Extreme Contracts is a podcast for developers, designers, consultants, and anyone who makes a living with their ideas. Drawing on the framework created by Jacopo Romei, each episode digs into a different dimension of how knowledge workers can ditch the toxic defaults — haggling over rates, bloated legalese, zero-sum standoffs — and build agreements rooted in trust, aligned incentives, and shared skin in the game.

Through real-world stories and hands-on tactics, we dismantle how deals are made and rebuild them from the ground up.© Jacopo Romei 2026
Episodes
  • 09 — BATNA — A Debate

    09 — BATNA — A Debate
    Mar 28 2026
    What happens when two hosts disagree on where negotiation power actually comes from? This episode is a structured debate on BATNA — your Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement — and the question of whether it works as an internal shield against your own psychological traps or as an external lever to reshape your counterpart's options.

    Drawing on Martin Shubik's dollar auction, Nassim Taleb's writing on freedom and optionality, and real cases from Italian publishing and agile software consulting, the conversation unpacks how knowledge workers can stop overbidding in negotiations they can't afford to win — and start structuring agreements they don't need to escape.

    Extreme Contracts is a framework for negotiation and collaboration in knowledge work, by Jacopo Romei.

    Learn more: extremecontracts.com
    About Jacopo: jacoporomei.com

    This episode includes AI-generated content.
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    21 mins
  • 08 — Optionality Principle — Why Your Projects Need Save Points

    08 — Optionality Principle — Why Your Projects Need Save Points
    Mar 27 2026
    What if the smartest move in any negotiation isn't committing to a plan — but deliberately keeping your options open?

    In this episode, we unpack optionality: the principle that says strategically delaying your decisions beats trying to predict the future every single time.

    We dig into why fixed-price contracts are structurally identical to Russian roulette, what Nassim Taleb means when he calls optionality "a substitute for intelligence," and how real teams — from a software company offering weekly money-back guarantees to an a cappella group that crowdfunded their audience before booking a venue — are rewriting the rules of collaboration.

    You'll walk away with three concrete actions you can take tomorrow: map your BATNA, trade options instead of discounts, and find the one irreversible decision you can safely delay.

    Extreme Contracts is a framework for negotiation and collaboration in knowledge work, by Jacopo Romei.

    Learn more: extremecontracts.com
    About Jacopo: jacoporomei.com

    This episode includes AI-generated content.
    Show More Show Less
    49 mins
  • 07 — Value-Centered Principle — Stop Selling Hours Start Selling Outcomes

    07 — Value-Centered Principle — Stop Selling Hours Start Selling Outcomes
    Mar 27 2026
    What if the most valuable thing you produce all week happens in a five-minute shower on Sunday morning — and your pricing model says it's worth exactly zero?

    In this episode, we tear apart the hourly billing trap that turns knowledge workers into clock-punchers and replace it with the Value-Centered Principle from the Extreme Contracts philosophy.

    We break down the critical difference between output and outcome, walk through real-world examples of anchoring your price to business impact instead of sweat, and lay out the mechanics of a radical five-day contract built on flat fees, professional autonomy, and an option to refuse.

    If you've ever felt penalized for being too efficient, micromanaged by a client who bought your hours, or stuck justifying your process instead of delivering results — this one's for you.

    Extreme Contracts is a framework for negotiation and collaboration in knowledge work, by Jacopo Romei.

    Learn more: extremecontracts.com
    About Jacopo: jacoporomei.com

    This episode includes AI-generated content.
    Show More Show Less
    50 mins
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