The Cats, recognising that the deal would likely see them giving up a top-10 draft pick and probably more, were quick to rule this kid out of the package.

Adelaide's response to this refusal was telling. The Crows didn't do what some clubs might have – which was to make their request a non-negotiable demand. They didn't say "trade him, or there's no deal".

Geelong chief executive Brian Cook, who wasn't directly involved in the discussions over Dangerfield but was apprised of the negotiations, has a business-school term for how Adelaide's head of football, David Noble, responded.

"He didn't anchor," said Cook. Noble and his negotiating partner, Adelaide list manager Justin Reid, opted to go away and think about their next move, before suggesting alternatives. Eventually, another kid an ex-South Australian Dean Gore, would be thrown into the deal, along with picks 9 and 28.

"Anchoring" is a concept familiar to both Noble and Cook, because it is taught in Harvard University's business courses. As you'd guess, to "anchor" means digging one's heels in and adopting a position from which you won't budge.

St Kilda "anchored" over Luke Ball and ended up losing Ball to Collingwood for nothing, as he walked out and nominated for the 2009 national draft. Port Adelaide anchored over Nick Stevens and the Power, too, gained no compensation for a player, who crossed to Carlton, rather than his preferred Pies.

Malcolm Turnbull anchored on the Emissions Trading Scheme (2009) and lost the Liberal leadership. Tony Abbott anchored on Peta Credlin and Joe Hockey and lost the Lodge.

But Noble wasn't inclined to drop the anchor over this particular player, in part because of the learnings from a Harvard crash course he'd undertaken in "strategic negotiation" back in May of 2013. In that intensive week at Harvard, Noble had been taught concepts that influenced his discussions with Geelong and, indeed, his trading philosophies.

While the influence should not be overstated, Noble and Cook think that the invisible hand of Harvard was evident in the Dangerfield deal. "His learnings from Harvard certainly helped," said Cook, who had seen Noble at the famed University when the CEO was in the midst of a nine-week course for senior executives.

Geelong's recruiting boss Stephen Wells and football chief Steven Hocking haven't yet seen Harvard Yard, but the Cats hierarchy has an unusual affinity with the world's most celebrated business school. Geelong president Colin Carter completed a two-year Masters of Business Administration  at Harvard. Carter encouraged Cook to take on the executive course and has coach Chris Scott signed up for  the same "authentic leadership" course that Alastair Clarkson did; Geelong's heads of media and Human Resources, too, have done short, sharp Harvard courses.

So, while Wells and Hocking hadn't ingested Harvard, their club certainly have and they're employed by people with that Boston pedigree who, above all, take a rational and reasonable approach to negotiations – whether they involve a champion midfielder, a sponsorship or a new grandstand.

In the Dangerfield discussions, Noble was mindful of the total value of the deal - everything that was potentially on the table for both parties. During his Harvard sojourn, Noble had heard about how a company might be sold more effectively when you considered all the parts - the inventory, the building/land, intellectual property and the workforce, when there was temptation for the buyer to simply grab one part.

For Geelong, this total value included the price of Dangerfield's contract. If he was a free agent, he'd require a fee high enough - say, $1.2 million a year - for the Crows not to match it. Geelong wanted to pay him $800,000-$850,000 and, ultimately, paying the champion at this affordable rate was worth more to the Cats than what they gave up in the trade.

In Harvard business classes, Cook and Noble were instructed in BATNA, which stands for Best Alternative To Negotiated Agreement. In essence, BATNA is someone's best walk-away position and you're encouraged to think, not only of your own BATNA — where you end up if the deal falls over — but also the other party's.

In the AFL, BATNA doesn't usually work for clubs and it often involves threats of a player ending up in the draft, with all the attendant risks. Note that while Leigh Matthews ostensibly "anchored" over James Aish (saying he wouldn't be traded for a draft pick), pragmatism won out and the Lions still went ahead and traded Aish.

Cook says that the Harvard class encouraged simple concepts such as "win-win" deals, along with more sophisticated theories. Geelong's reputation as a fair club, that is honest and transparent in their dealings, has proven highly beneficial. Players and their managers are more willing to choose the Cats - as Dangerfield and Lachie Henderson did - in the knowledge that they will make the trade happen, with a minimum of fuss and ugliness.

Adelaide chairman Rob Chapman was told more than once by rival clubs that his club was "lucky you're dealing with Geelong" on Dangerfield.

The Crows, whatever their failings elsewhere (such as the Kurt Tippett affair), also have a reputation for straight-shooting when conducting a deal, which is a reflection of both the club and of Noble and Reid.

It's noteworthy that the clubs that have the best results on the field - Geelong, Hawthorn, Sydney - also have reputations for paying fair prices and for minimal drama in negotiations. One of the hallmarks of the mature Dangerfield deal, indeed, was how it involved so little rancour or conflict.

Noble says that his Harvard lessons encouraged him to take  "a more holistic" approach to trades, focusing less on one trade than on the aggregate outcome in the exchange period; the Crows might not have gained Troy Menzel from the Blues for pick 28, for instance, had they not finished the Dangerfield deal early.

"You want to be known for being respected and fair and a capacity for being able to get the deal done," said Noble.

It takes decency, not a degree, to earn that reputation. But as the game becomes more and more of a business, there will be many trades done, like Danger's, in the Harvard way.