Agricultural scientist Norman Borlaug, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in combating world hunger and saving hundreds of millions of lives, died Saturday in Texas, a Texas A&M University spokeswoman said. He was 95.
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."
How to Go on the Offensive with Facebook.
I love Guy Kawasaki — his thinking is light years ahead of his contemporaries. I hope you enjoy his latest piece on Facebook - read, absorb, and act!
By Guy Kawasaki at Alltop
A friend of mine conducted this informal poll about what a person should do if she were asked to show a male interviewer her Facebook page. Only 12% said they would agree. Thirty-three percent said they would walk out of the interview or refuse. Fifty-five percent said they would ask why and then decide.
It’s time to “face” two facts: First, most organizations are either already looking at candidates’ Facebook profiles, or they are going to start soon. Second, people who are worth hiring either have a social-networking profile on some service or will soon—indeed, recruiters may already think that a candidate who doesn’t have a profile is hiding something, disconnected, or clueless.
Given these two developments, the defensive advice that experts are pedaling to “be careful what you put on your Facebook profile because recruiters may look at it” is ass-backwards. Instead, you should assume that organizations are checking you out (in fact, I blogged about a more efficient way to do this here) and use this to your advantage.
That is, rather than cleanse profiles in order to escape rejection, enlightened candidates will use Facebook profiles to market themselves—perhaps even asking to show their Facebook profiles in interviews. Think about what companies are looking for: bright, diligent, honest, well-rounded, socially-responsible, green, and connected people. Now imagine that you were giving a tour of your Facebook profile to a recruiter. Would you be able to make these kinds of statements?
“This is my graduation picture. I completed a four-year program on time while working full time." “This is one of my favorite professors. I took ABC from him (where ABC is a subject area relevant to the job).” “This is a photo essay of when I traveled throughout China. I was totally blown away by the entrepreneurial spirit of the Chinese, and I made many friendships that will help me in your position.” “Here’s when my hockey/soccer/basketball/whatever team won the championship. I learned so much about hard work, discipline, and team play because of sports.” “Here’s a bunch of my friends hanging out with me (this picture should contain people of multiple genders, ethnicities, religions, and sexual orientations) right before we went on a mission to build schools in Guatemala.” “This is the day that I got my iPhone/iTablet/iWhatever—I have to admit that I’m an early-adopter of technology.” Even better: “This is a picture of how I use what this company makes.” “Here’s when I went to Demo/TechCrunch50/World Economic Forum/G8/whatever in order to learn about what’s happening in the industry.” “This is the tweetup/meetup/faceup/whatever that I coordinated to help people network better.” "Here’s where I volunteered to work at SXSW so that I could attend all the sessions for free. This is the most amazing conference—have you ever been to it?" “Here’s when I met Robert Scoble/Mike Arrington/Charlene Li/Jeremiah Owyang/Chris Anderson/Steve Rubel/Ariana Huffington/Steve Ballmer/Steve Jobs/GRAMEEMBANK/David Pogue/Walt Mossberg/whoever.”
You don’t need to get all Forest Gump, but you get the point. Some folks might make the case that I’m missing the point of Facebook: It’s supposed to be one’s personal, “let my hair down,” silly world. Yes, you will lose some cred with your friends for selling out. Welcome to the real world—here you have to make tradeoffs all the time.
For a while, people who work Facebook like this will stand out from the crowd. Then recruiters will figure out that you’re playing them. Still, I would look at it this way: “At least this candidate is clever enough to work the system.”
The irony is that if enough people start doing this, recruiters may tire of looking at Facebook profiles, and then you can go back to showing pictures of when you barfed your brains out at a party while wearing no clothes.
09 • 09 • 09
The Beatles are the defining group of my generation and I might daresay — many generations.
Today marks a date where they will release all of their music in a remastered state AND expand their presence into younger generations via a RockBand video game offering (there are also hints of their catalogue appearing on iTunes - so stay tuned!). If you don't know it already - when it comes to marketing - The Beatles are the BEST.
I remember the first time I heard them - I was five years old in my brother's room. On the turntable was Meet The Beatles and "It Won't Be Long" was blasting out of one single speaker on the floor (that's 60's high fidelity for you - Heathkit by the way!).
I instantly fell in love. My older brothers allowed me to stay in their room and listen to the whole album before I was again banished back to my room forever.
The funny thing is that as time goes on, other bands that I LOVED just fade away - U2, REM, Jethro Tull, The Partridge Family, etc. Their music still has meaning to me — unfortunately I just don't listen to their albums anymore.
But I still have the entire Beatles catalogue on my iPhone. There is something compelling, enjoyable, and fun about their music. I listen to it ALL the time.
Go figure.
So I will be asking for the entire remastered Beatles catalog for Christmas. And Santa, I've been a good boy.
P.S. What's your favorite Beatles' song and album?
Losing Your Compass? Try Simple Philosophy.
Book Review: The Management Myth: Why the "Experts" Keep Getting it Wrong - By Matthew Stewart
"How can so many who know so little make so much by telling other people how to do the jobs they are paid to know how to do?" The answer to this question, posed by a professor of author Matthew Stewart, is basically the entire volume of The Management Myth, itself. This darkly funny, brutally detailed look at the management consultant class manages to unveil nonsense and presumptions of everyone involved in corporate life in America, from current gurus like Tom Peters (In Search of Excellence) to modern-day Fortune 500 company heads to the worshipped founders of business schools and management theory.
Try Kindle for iPhone. It Will Change Your Life.
I have been reading books for over 42 years.
I LOVE them. Biographies, business, novels, mysteries, scifi, horror, comedy . . . anything. I scare people with the amount of books (and the associated bookcases) that I own.
A number of months ago, I downloaded the iPhone version of the Amazon Kindle just to see how it works and if I would actually read a book on a small screen. Well, after a few months, I have 10 books on my iPhone and there is no end in sight.
The best feature of the iPhone Kindle (IMHO) is the ability to download a single chapter of the book to see if you like it or if it is actually lives up to its hype. Be wary — this is an addictive way to get you to try the book. I've bought all of my books this way.
Readability is not an issue. I know . . . I know — you're afraid of the small form factor. But don't worry. Remember when you went from Hardcover to Paperback? You lost 1/2 the size. The Kindle's form factor is 1/2 the size again - but you get to enlarge or decrease the size of the type, have a black, white or sepia background and read horizontally or vertically. Oh — did I add that it is back-lit? You can read in bed or in low light conditions.
The verdict? I read faster, can bookmark pages/ideas quicker, and carry my current library of books wherever I go. Not in my briefcase, backpack or purse — on my PHONE.
And it's free - you only pay (on average) $9.99 for the book (where the same physical book on Amazon might run you $20-$30).
Try it - you might like love it.
Staying in the Game With Help on the Sidelines.
CEOs - Attract The Best Board Candidates.
It is becoming increasingly difficult for boards to attract outstanding board candidates. Candidates are reluctant to consider opportunities because of the increased time demands of board membership as well as the increased time demands of the candidate's own positions. This is especially problematic because the need for board members, and especially outstanding ones, has never been greater.
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.
Powerful Quotes I Love.
"Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple." - Dr. Seuss
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.
CMO to CEO: Insights & Advice From CEOs Who Have Made The Transition.
Little is written about the options available to CMOs to progress beyond their role as marketers and become key players at the executive committee level. At the Rich Gee Group, we frequently run into many C-Level executives who want to progress to the top rung and help them develop a strategy on what they should be doing to make themselves credible contenders for the CEO berth.
Do You Need An "Executive-Level" Health Program?
5 Stages of Grief When Looking For A Job.
Here's a fun list that I saw on Madatoms:
Denial
I've got plenty of money! I'll start looking next week!
Anger Craigslist and Monster sucks! I've got a college degree! Jobs should be looking for me!
Bargaining I'll just drive around looking for help wanted signs. I hear that Starbucks has health insurance!
Depression Why did I major in Communications? I have no useful skills.
Acceptance I didn't know I qualified for unemployment! I love this country!