It's the most wonderful time of the year . . . Yes — it's that time to prepare for annual reviews. Most leaders look at this as a frustrating zone between a rock and a hard place (is this you?).
Reorganize Yourself.
Business Spotlight: West Star Farms
Launching A New Strategy . . .
Made The WSJ Again!
The Secret On How To Succeed At Almost Anything.
Tips To Connect With The Executive Suite & Get That Job - Part Two.
Tips To Connect With The Executive Suite & Get That Job - Part One.
The Best Time Management Tool I Recommend To My Clients.
Take A Vacation From Your Problems.
Why Most Executives Experience A "Crisis of Confidence".
Desperate Times Do Not Call for Desperate Measures.
Will Social Media Be of Any Help to CEOs?
Lots of Enemies? Make Friends With The Press.
Harvey McKay: How To Negotiate!
I love Harvey McKay. From one of his first books, Swim with the Sharks, I saw a real professional who was not shy about revealing his tried and true business secrets. He is a one-of-a-kind leader! By Harvey McKay
I got a phone call from a Fortune 500 CEO one week whom I had never met. After decades of begging the government to relax their regulatory grip and let his industry experience the joys of competition, his wish had been granted—and his bottom line had plummeted. He wanted me to talk to his top executives for two hours and zero in on negotiating strategies.
A bit overwhelmed, I said, "I'm very flattered but, frankly, I don't know if I can talk for two hours on negotiating." Then I realized I was actually negotiating with myself. As my brain finally reconnected, I cut myself off. "Well, let me sleep on it and I'll get back to you."
Later that evening, I began to write down some of my negotiating experiences and saw that my problem was going to be holding the speech down to two hours. I'd already brushed up against the first and second laws of negotiating that morning in my conversation with the CEO:
- Never accept any proposal immediately, no matter how good it sounds.
- Never negotiate with yourself. You'll furnish the other side with ammunition they might never have gotten themselves. Don't raise a bid or lower an offer without first getting a response.
Here are some more negotiating rules and insights:
- Never cut a deal with someone who has to "go back and get the boss's approval." That gives the other side two bites of the apple to your one. They can take any deal you are willing to make and renegotiate it.
- If you can't say yes, it's no. Just because a deal can be done, doesn't mean it should be done. no one ever went broke saying "no" too often.
- Just because it may look nonnegotiable, doesn't mean it is. Take that beautifully printed "standard contract" you've just been handed. Many a smart negotiator has been able to name a term and gets away with it by making it appear to be chiseled in granite, when they will deal if their bluff is called.
- Do your homework before you deal. Learn as much as you can about the other side. Instincts are no match for information.
- Rehearse. Practice. Get someone to play the other side. Then switch roles. Instincts are no match for preparation.
- Beware the late dealer. Feigning indifference or casually disregarding timetables is often just a negotiator's way of trying to make you believe he/she doesn't care if you make the deal or not.
- Be nice, but if you can't be nice, go away and let someone else do the deal. You'll blow it.
- A deal can always be made when both parties see their own benefit in making it.
- A dream is a bargain no matter what you pay for it. Set the scene. Tell the tale. Generate excitement. Help the other side visualize the benefits, and they'll sell themselves.
- Don't discuss your business where it can be overheard by others. Almost as many deals have gone down in elevators as elevators have gone down.
- Watch the game films. Top players in any game, including negotiating, debrief themselves immediately after every major session. They always keep a book on themselves and the other side.
- No one is going to show you their hole card. You have to figure out what they really want. Clue: Since the given reason is never the real reason, you can eliminate the given reason.
- Always let the other side talk first. Their first offer could surprise you and be better than you ever expected.
- You must be fully prepared to lose a great deal in order to make a great deal!
- "Make every bargain clear and plain, that none may afterwards complain." - Greek Proverb
Successful Startups: The Method Company.
Eric Ryan and Adam Lowry were having dinner with their new investors. The 27-year-old entrepreneurs had finally gotten a million dollars in venture capital to kick-start their company, but it came with stiff financial targets. It turned out this was the least of their problems that night. "We were passing our credit cards under the table to each other," Ryan recalls, "but none of them worked, because we had maxed them out. Eventually, we persuaded the restaurant owner we were good for the money."
Staying in the Game With Help on the Sidelines.
Task Ninja: Form the Action Habit.
A lot of us get stuck in inaction –procrastinating, doing a lot of unimportant tasks to avoid the important stuff, worrying about failing or about being perfect, having a hard time starting, getting distracted, and so on. It’s time to start forming the Action Habit instead. Get all Ninja on your actions.
The Shredding Of YOUR Workplace Is Happening NOW.
Facebook Postings Close Doors For Job Candidates.
More employers than ever are researching job candidates on sites like Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter in order to find out more about their activities and character. And, it turns out, many candidates are doing a great job of showing their potential bosses poor communication skills, inappropriate pictures, and even how many workplace secrets they can leak.