How to come out as a winner in a negotiation? It’s a bit counterintuitive, but it works. The secret is by giving, before taking!
In an NYT article titled “In negotiations, givers are smarter than takers”, Adam Grant shares a story of diplomat Christiana Figueres.
She was in charge of negotiating a global agreement for climate change for the UN. The only country that did not sign was Saudi Arabia. The way Christiana fixed that was by meeting the Saudis with ‘an understanding strategy’ vs a ‘negotiation strategy’. (Saudi WANTED to diversify their Economy. Christiana HELPED them achieve it). Read – https://bit.ly/dkb-nego
Christiana came out as a winner in her negotiation!
2 weeks ago, I requested my office landlords to waive x % of our rents. (Very high since we are in Tardeo, located in South Mumbai). They came back with a counteroffer of reducing half the x %.
I thought about & sent them another counter. “We will continue to PAY you the monthly rents, but when we renew our agreements, we will use the x % as free days.”
They came back & confirmed! I traded cash flow for a better deal. In business, negotiations depend on circumstances. When BSNL played hardball with me while activating the Idon Idol Voting Platform for Sony TV for my mobile2win startup, I negotiated uniquely. They came to their senses in a day. (Chk ‘Staying Firm’ in https://bit.ly/dkb-book )
My learnings? What always fails is negotiating & winning my exploiting weakness, vulnerability & lack of knowledge. That karma is NEVER profitable. Your experience?
#Dhandhekibaat is a series of vlogs, posts, and discussions on doing Business ‘the’ startup entrepreneur way!
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