Thank Goodness It's Monday #317

THE SUMMER OF OUR DISCONTENT

Stealing from Shakespeare, now certainly is – according to formal polls and an informal consensus among the people I regularly converse with – “the summer of our discontent.” 

First Folio of Shakespeare's
Richard the Third
-- the opening line of which is
"Now is the winter of our discontent ..."

Economic fears are weighing heavily on Americans, with a large majority saying the United States is on the wrong track and nearly half believing the worst is yet to come. A Reuters/Ipsos poll formalized that view last Wednesday (as if we might not have known.)

The poll reflects growing anxiety about the U.S. economy and frustration with Washington after a narrowly averted government default, a credit rating downgrade by Standard & Poor's, a stock market dive and a stubbornly high jobless rate.

It concludes that 73 percent of Americans believe the United States is "off on the wrong track" with 47 percent believing “the worst is yet to come.”

On the wrong track. Yes, but … Trains on the wrong track can’t be redirected to the right track all that easily.

Perhaps, in part, because we, the semi-affluent, live in an auto-dominated, GPS-guided world of interconnected roadways we seem to have adopted the mindset that, when we miss our exit, we can easily follow mechano-voice instructions to “Reverse directions when able.”

It ain’t that easy, my friend.

And as for “What’s to come …” Waiting for “others” to take action and right things is short-sighted and will cost you dearly.

A bit of old-timey folk wisdom points out that “You can’t change the past, but you can ruin today by worrying about the future.”

But you shouldn’t be totally passive either. Worry; just not to distraction. Better to invest some energy today in being concerned about the future and acting now to influence it.

And, in my not particularly humble opinion, many of us mistake the increasingly popular commotion of “social networking” as “activity” when it isn’t.

• “Friending up” on Facebook isn’t the same as taking action together with a select group of those friends to make change happen.
• Linking up on LinkedIn isn’t the same as actually getting together with a select group of your business cohorts and coming up with a way to effectively do more business together.
• Tweeting or blogging or e-blasting to those who click or re-tweet or knee-jerk respond to endorse or curse a 140-character brain burp is not at all the same as open and objectively considered and discussed dialogue among interested parties.

It’s a lot like playing the lottery. As they advertise, “You gotta be in it to win it.” And being in it – the lottery or dabbling in social media -- can be fun. But the odds do not at all favor your winning or winning significantly. And if that’s the only “investment” you’re making, good luck with the future.

Win The Future! If nothing else, use the interconnectedness that personal social media makes easy to deliver content you believe valuable and will help us all get back on the right track.

TGIM ACTION IDEA: Start with information. Then add insight. Sharing useful and relevant information with your social network communicates your investment in supporting those folks, rather than just promoting yourself.

Here’s my “old school” view of how the basics work:

Before the digital revolution, you could win a lot of friends in business simply by mailing an item of interest – a magazine article, an appealing cartoon, some newspaper notice – to a colleague, adding some small handwritten note that acknowledged the bond you two shared. (“Here’s an item you might have missed from my local paper about your competitor’s new Spring line. Let’s go fishing together soon.”)

TGIM IDEA IN ACTION: Model this behavior in the digital world. Use your social media opportunities to inform the behavior of your connections and deliver messages you believe have value. Connect the dots for them. Don’t spam.  Add value by adding your interpretation and your view of the implications for them.

Putting it together: Checking my Facebook page this morning and clicking “Most Recent,” the top 7 entries had “friends” of mine adding 108 new “friends” to their tallies.

I’ve got to suspect that all these friends aren’t going to be “bff” (Best Friends Forever.) Still I trust that most of my “business” friends in this group of 7 were thoughtful enough to take the opportunity to add some small personal comment to their click-to-friend-up.

Now, if each of those 7 +108 takes a weekly opportunity as I do to share a (I hope) value message like TGIM, won’t that help prevent “the worst” awaiting us in our future?

It’s up to us – first and foremost. And it’s in that spirit that I hope we can each proactively move forward, combining our knowhow and using our 21^st Century digital skills to share info, add insight and value to social networking to get us back on track and Win The Future.

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square
Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com   

P.S.  “Now is the winter of our discontent, made glorious summer by this sun of York” was coined by Shakespeare and are the opening words of the 16^th Century play Richard III. The “sun of York” wasn't, of course, a so much a comment on English weather as a “son” pun concerning King Richard and the “discontent” was, in reality, as much about the English nation during the time of the War of Roses as with the King.

Thank Goodness It's Monday #316

MISTY MAGIC, PONY POWER

AND SALT-WATER COWBOYS

EHFTB-FTWMIH. Regular readers of TGIM and long-time friends and acquaintances of mine know that one of the personal philosophies I often spout is “Everything Happens For The Best – For Those Who Make It Happen.” (I detailed the origins most recently in TGIM #300 if you care to check it out.)

Point is: EHFTB-FTWMIH is an approach to life events that some folks find a little Pollyanna-ish … a bit simplistic … maybe too naïve for this complex and confrontational world. And even I will agree that there can be situations that appear to be far from a “For The Best” solution.

So I’m ever alert for real life stories that I think help support my position.

And today, although I’ve been enjoying a bit of vacation time-off-for-good-behavior, I’ve come across an entertaining (I hope) EHFTB-FTWMIH story worth sharing.

The story begins with a fire. Two fires, to be precise. Which occurred in the 1920s on the opposite sides of Chincoteague, Virginia (where I’m visiting with friends.)

The conflagrations burned out of control for the lack of effective firefighting equipment. Chincoteaguers were determined to not let it happen again, so a small group organized themselves into a volunteer fire company.

So far, so good. But not yet the stuff of a EHFTB-FTMIH-worthy narrative.

The challenge for this not-so-prosperous Delmarva Peninsula seafood harvesting and chicken-raising community was how to pay for the firefighting equipment they needed.

Make-It-Happen thinking to the rescue. Someone suggested auctioning the wild horses that grazed on nearby Assateague Island.

Legend claimed that the sturdy-but-small “ponies” were descendents of wild mustangs who swam to shore after a Spanish galleon sunk off the coast. The less imaginative (and current-day genetic testing) say their origins trace back to 1600s when early island settlers turned their herds loose to graze on the island tax-free.

Either way, the pony roundup and auction idea proved to have the makings of –

A winner. In 1925 Pony Penning Day and an Auction was born and the tradition continues each July. Run by Chincoteague firemen turned “Salt Water Cowboys,” the herd is rounded up and, on slack tide, they swim across the channel between the islands. The foals are auctioned off to keep the herd at an eco-sensitive size of 150 horses and to fill the “I wanna pony” dream of kids of all ages.

Sound somewhat familiar? Well, the 80+ year celebration routinely makes international headlines. And in 1947 a version of the story won a permanent place in children’s literature when author Marguerite Henry penned the now-beloved classic Misty of Chincoteague which later made it to the big screen and led to a second book featuring Misty’s foal Stormy.

Happens-for-the-best Pony Power. This year more than 25,000 turned out for swim day. In all, 68 foals were sold at the auction for an average price of $1,378 each, earning $93,725 for the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company, according to an unofficial tally.

Salt-water cowboys and Chincoteague ponies 2011

While still maintaining a substantial bay-related oyster, crab and such community, tourism is the core of the island’s life.

Travel related websites rate Chincoteague/Assateague as one of the Top 10 beach destinations. Misty’s footprints are memorialized under the old movie house marquee. The ranch where she frolicked is a mini museum and she’s “preserved” there with Stormy. (There’s a swell spirit-of-P.T. Barnum sign out front that, to draw in passers-by, reads “See the real Misty” – sidestepping the reality that, were she alive, she’d nearly be ready to collect Social Security.) Old time bay men sell old duck-hunting decoys for thousands of dollars and newly-carved works for considerable sums.

EHFTB-FTWMIH. By the way, back in 1925 the Chincoteague volunteer firemen got their equipment after the first pony penning: a 750-gallon American La France pumper with 2000 feet of hose. And there has never been a catastrophic fire on Chincoteague since.

TGIM Takeaway: As I’ve said before, you must take action for anything to turn out “For The Best.” You must be ever alert for opportunities to triumph in the face of adversity.

And it’s not easy. You can’t be a passive bystander. You must be constantly and consistently preparing for the future. And when challenges arise you must rally that preparation and confront them. It isn’t enough to want the best. Continually challenge yourself to know what you’re going to do to get to where you want to be. Effort makes achievement.

Although it worked for the Chincoteaguers --

Don't horse around. Make the effort. Make It Happen – for the best.

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373

tgimguy@gmail.com   

P.S.  The local Delmarva paper has 2011 auction details and appealing “I finally got my pony” stories HERE

Thank Goodness It's Monday #315

“ARE YOU NUTS?”

THE ART OF ASKING QUESTIONS

Questions are key in getting to the point and then moving forward in almost any of life’s transactions.

Indeed, without questions there would be little give and take; few clues about how to move ahead in personal or professional exchanges – especially in dealings that require some level of negotiation.

It pretty much boils down to Q&A.

At their heart, most negotiations are really little more than a series of questions … discussions about questions … and, lastly, answers to questions. So …

The questions that are asked determine the course of the negotiations.

• Good questions can steer the course of the negotiations in the right direction.
• Poorly formulated or misdirected questions can do irreparable damage to your outcome.

TGIM Takeaway: Careful negotiators consider their questioning strategy and plan at least some of their more important questions in advance.

And that’s --

Not as easy as it sounds. When you’re negotiating, you have to consider how the information each question is supposed to glean will advance your cause. You also have to think of the best way to formulate those questions to get an answers that are both meaningful and useful.

And sometimes it’s not very straightforward. Sometimes you must lead up to the question – and the answer/outcome – that you really want with a series of smaller, less-probing inquiries.  

So, perhaps obviously, the timing of questions is also important. 

Q: Is all this “question planning” really necessary?

A: It is when a negotiable outcome is at stake.  

Antennas up! When they’re trying to strike a deal, people don’t like to answer questions they suspect may compromise the favorable aspects of their outcome. In such a situation your counterpart is particularly alert – as you are – to the idea that most questions have the goal of improving the asker’s position in the negotiation. 

True, many questions concern matters of fact. And, in general, facts are not negotiable. But opinions based on them may well be. So, given the propensity to be defensive in negotiations, unless the facts requested are fairly harmless, a skilled negotiator is inclined to resist a direct answer.  

► Other questions confirm facts. For example, you may wish to ask some technical questions – not strictly because you want the answers, but to test the opponent’s technical knowledge about the subject of the negotiation.  

Likewise some negotiators ask questions to which they already know the answers just to confirm the honesty or veracity of the opponent. 

► Of course there are some questions your counterparts may be glad to answer because it appears to build or support their position –  

Or so they think. Such answers may reveal more than just the facts.  

Case in point: Suppose you, as a skilled and disciplined asker of questions, can safely assume you have greater industry knowledge than the question answerer. Although the answerer expounds at length on how well-run their operation is because of all the great things they do, you may spot useful opportunities to compare what you need against what’s being offered. 

► Questions can also be used to make proposals. Such “questions” begin with phrases such as “Would you consider …” or “Suppose we were to ….” 

A proposal in this form usually requires some kind of answer before moving on, and that very often gets the opposition to start thinking in a more focused way.  

Heads up: This is a good place to apply the idea of not taking “no” for an answer. If the response comes back essentially negative, you may want to rephrase the question and present it again before altering your position. 

► Some negotiators use questions the way a fisherman casts a net in open waters. By doing this they expect to catch certain information, but also anticipate an interesting and valuable mix in the haul. Example: “What do you think some of the problems are?”  

Responding to such queries provides opponents with the opportunity to introduce their own opinions. And a great deal can be gleaned by listening to those opinions which, in turn, may raise some new, more pointed questions.  

► Questions can also be hostile – perhaps intentionally.  

Are you reading this TGIM in part because the headline asked – 

“Are you nuts?”

Even if you’re a loyal reader and are inclined to check this out no matter what the headline, you’ll probably concede that the confrontational “Are you nuts?”  focused your attention. Questions such as this are sometimes used by skilled negotiators to move things off dead center. 

But watch this: Play the Hostile Q card, or the provocative, indignant one (“What the…. do you mean by that?”) with care.  

Tone of voice and spirited language can, even mistakenly, seem to introduce a personal element into the mix. And when things “get personal,” questions rarely get a very good response. Worse, they may serve to spread parties further apart and lengthen the entire process. So unless you’re actually looking for a fight, keep such challenges forthright and friendly in tone. 

►Finally, some questions are designed to close a discussion or negotiating session altogether.  

Typical closing questions: “So you think we’ve got a deal here?”… “Ready to sign on the dotted line?”… “Haven’t you got everything you’ve been asking for?”  Or “Aren’t you about ready to wrap it up?” 

One caution here: Asking a closing question, especially of the “wrap up” type, too early can signal that you are the one in a hurry to settle and so the other person may simply decide to let you make all the remaining concessions.  

Of course, such questions can also be a smooth segue into closing an August–in-NJ TGIM –

“Don’t you think?”  

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373

tgimguy@gmail.com   

P.S.  “Before I refuse to take your questions, I have an opening statement.” That cautionary quote about using questions effectively is attributed to President Ronald Reagan (1911 – 2004) prior to a press conference.

Thank Goodness It's Monday #314

TIMELY– AND TIMELESS – WISDOM

FROM 1915

I’m taking a break from ranting about “negotiation” as I have in the last several TGIMs. (Rousing applause can be heard.)

And, in fact, I’m taking a bit of a break from writing much of anything original. (More applause, even louder.)

What I will do today is apply my editorial experience to share with you bits and pieces of motivation and inspiration gleaned from a terrific little magazine called “The Silent Partner.”

I recently unearthed a copy sorting through a pile of accumulated paper ephemera.

By the way: The cover date of this 7 ¾” x 4 ¼” wonder is January 1915.

The editor and principal writer of “The Silent Partner” was Fred Dewitt Van Amburgh (1866-1944), who started his “clean, wholesome magazine of inspiration and human interest” ten years earlier and apparently had many more years of subscription publishing success. (In this issue the Subscription Rate is listed as “One dollar a year, 10 cents a copy. Advertising rates upon application.”)

You can find F. D. Van Amburgh quotes in many online compilations.

But here – exclusively for TGIM readers and, it appears, available nowhere else in the digital universe – are some slightly longer highlights from the first-of-1915 issue.

Remember when they were written. While the language is a bit dated (Van Amburgh assumes the workplace and his readership is pretty much an all-male bastion) his content is still packed with plenty of meaning for the 21^st Century.

Let’s begin:

***

COMMON CLAY

 Time is handing you three hundred and sixty-five pounds of potter’s clay – enough to mould a monument to yourself. What you do with this material this year will be the measure of your moral and material worth in years to come. 

If you fail with this batch of material before you, make up your mind there is something wrong with you and not with the clay. The year 1915 will be your greatest chance for molding something worthwhile. Get a handful of mud and work out something that will faithfully represent you as a doer. 

***

THE WRECKING CREW 

Take two buildings, one in the course of construction, and the other under destruction. The new, modern steel structure attracts the attention of a few men who think; the old brick-and-mortar wreck calls together an idle crowd of down-and-outers. Few things worthwhile are found in the ash can. Keep away from the tearing-down gang, the wrecking crew. Be a modern builder. A man is sure to go where he is thinking.

***

WHAT YOU GIVE 

Did you ever read a good book and fail to think of a friend with whom you would share its value? The more keenly you enjoy anything, the more firmly you wish for a friend to join you. This is proof that you are in sympathy with the world, and it is but fair to assume that you are but a correct measure of most men. Give the world more credit, and it will help you to be happier. You will get exactly what you give, and seldom any more. This is normal, natural. If you expect more than this you are fooling yourself. 

***

THE CORPORATION 

A corporation that is frank and fair with the public, that manages its men in a manner that causes them always to be courteous and polite to the public, and that brings out the best efficiency in the organization, will win the cooperation of its customers, its consumers, the public. 

The right attitude must begin with the corporation. All of the press agents in the country will be of no value to a company unless that company is conducting its business on the right lines.

***

SELF-CONFIDENCE 

Someone said, “Self confidence is the habit of expecting great things of ourselves.” 

If you lack self-confidence, you lack the first factor in success. Unless you have the confidence of others, you cannot for the life of you succeed. Hence it takes two kinds of confidence to win.

Merchants must have confidence. Individuals are conspicuously dependent upon confidence. Confidence is capital. Believe in yourself, make good, and this will make others believe in you. 

There is tremendous power in the conviction you can do things. Think yourself into big things. Raise your own salary, by first having enough self-confidence to start you on your way up.  

***

BASIS TO BUILD ON 

Try to do some brave deed, some sincere, human help, without a witness. Then watch yourself grow in your own estimation. Your own estimation of yourself is of more consequence to you than the opinion of the world. If you are inwardly right, you have a basis to build on. 

TGIM Takeaway: Doubly appropriate for our TGIM wrap-up is Van Amburgh’s last bit of editorial from the January 1915 issue of “The Silent Partner” – 

Economy in correspondence is important. Start your letter with confidence in your wares, and with confidence in yourself. Talk plain, and if, when you have finished, you do not feel that the letter will sell the goods, it certainly won’t. If you have not convinced yourself first, you will not convince the customer.

***

I’m convinced. And I’m convinced that you will be, too, partner.

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square
Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com   
 

P.S.  And giving Van Amburgh the final final word: In a January 1915 item he titled THE MAGAZINE -- to which we’ll add, in our 21^st Century way, AN E-BLAST or A BLOG POST -- he observes: 

“When a writer becomes so intellectual … when an  editor parades his special knowledge … when a magazine thinks it all out for you, there is little room for a reader, save to read. 

“It is not necessary to agree with a magazine on all subjects to get good out of it. It is the underlying ideas that are simply suggested, and left for you to think out in your own way, that make a magazine what it is.”

No Doubt He's Media's Modern Messenger

THE MEDIUM

AND THE MESSENGER

“If it works, it’s obsolete.”  Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980) made that pretty profound observation (along with many others) over the course of his career.

First Edition
Hardcover

Happy birthday. The man credited with promulgating the idea that “the medium is the message” … who anticipated the “global village” … and, 3 decades before it came to pass, explained human behavior in the interconnected internet age -- would have been 100 today.

Other McLuhan-isms to ponder:

• Tomorrow is our permanent address.
• The answers are always inside the problem, not outside.
• We look at the present through a rear-view mirror. We march backwards into the future.
• Invention is the mother of necessities.
• Why is it so easy to acquire the solutions of past problems and so difficult to solve current ones?
• Today each of us lives several hundred years in a decade.
• The price of eternal vigilance is indifference.
• The future of the book is the blurb.
• The ignorance of how to use new knowledge stockpiles exponentially.
• Politics offers yesterday’s answers to today’s questions.
• Today the business of business is becoming the constant invention of new business.

McLuhan in a nutshell: His seminal book, Understanding Media (1964), is where he laid out his concept that “The message of any medium or technology is the change of scale or pace or pattern that it introduces into human affairs.”

Proof of the pudding: In 1967, with Quentin Fiore, McLuhan intended to expand on his insights with a book titled with his now-famous phrase, when the book came back from the typesetter’s, it had a typographical error on the cover which read The Medium is the Massage, as it still does.

Dr. Eric McLuhan, Marshall’s eldest son has explained, “When Marshall saw the typo he exclaimed, ‘Leave it alone! It’s great, and right on target!’” and he adds: “Now there are four possible readings for the last word of the title, all of them accurate: ‘Message’ and ‘Mess Age,’ ‘Massage’ and ‘Mass Age.’”

A happy birthday McLuhan-ism we all can use: “I may be wrong, but I’m never in doubt.”

No doubt about it.

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square
Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com   

P.S.  Further reading: http://markbattypublisher.com/books/everymans-mcluhan/

Thank Goodness It's Monday #313

STONEWALLING –

YES, OR NO?

First, an apology: All the apparently no-progress “bargaining” going on in Washington DC keeps pulling my thoughts in the direction of good-business-practices negotiation.

So if you’ve been longing for a TGIM that’s more motivation/inspiration –

Maybe next Monday.

Today I’m focused on the idea of “stonewalling.”

“There stood Jackson like a stone wall.” In one form or another, that characterization, by the dying Confederate Civil War Brigadier General Bernard Bee of his fellow General at the first Battle of Bull Run around Manassas, Virginia in July of 1861, stuck with Thomas Jonathan (a.k.a. “Stonewall”) Jackson the rest of his life.

Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson
January 21, 1824(1824-01-21) – May 10, 1863(1863-05-10)

The stirring image captured imaginations everywhere, North and South.

But in that regard military historian John C. Waugh notes: “Tom Jackson had attracted attention to himself simply by being himself – unreasonably adamant.” (Jackson had also been nicknamed “Tom Fool.”)

Obstinate, stubborn fool or not: A West Point graduate, Stonewall Jackson is respected as a military tactician of the first order. His proven-under-fire ideas are taught even today in recognition of their timeless military essentials: discipline, mobility, assessing the enemy's strength and intentions while attempting to conceal your own, and the efficiency of artillery combined with an infantry assault.

Which gets us back to –

Stonewalling in the 21^st Century. The lineage of Jackson's Confederate Army unit, the Stonewall Brigade, continues to the present day in form of the 116th Infantry Brigade of the U.S. Army, currently part of the Virginia National Guard. At Virginia Military Institute where he taught before the Civil War, a bronze statue of Jackson stands outside the main entrance to the cadet barracks; first-year cadets exiting the barracks through that archway are required to honor Jackson's memory by saluting the statue.

And in the workplace: In current parlance, stonewalling has come to mean a stubborn refusal to move from one position – a mix of the tough hero General with just a suspicion of “Tom Fool” thrown in.

You know how it goes: In general, like the General, the negotiator treats his position as being incapable of change and simply refuses every attempt by the opposition to compromise or alter the position.

Some negotiators will plead that their stonewall position represents the best they can possibly do.

An even harsher stonewall tactic: Escalate or increase the demands as time passes.  This tactic involves moving further away from an agreement in hope of coercing the opponent into immediately accepting the present offer.

The attempt, of course, is to convince opponents that there’s no room left to negotiate.

“That’s all I’ve got.”

“Take it or leave it.”

“It’s our last, best and final offer.”

Is it really? Maybe … Maybe not …

Do stonewall tactics work?

TGIM Truth: More often than not, yes.

But there are a few cautions.

• When you make a take-it-or-leave-it offer, you better be prepared for your opponent to “leave it.” If you have no other alternatives, backtracking will probably mean that you will be forced to accept your opponent’s last offer.
• Once you back away from a stonewall position, the tactic will never have the same strength again. The opponent will have every reason to consider it a bluff the next time you try it.

TGIM ACTION IDEA: The decision to hold your ground should be based on a firm, thoroughly researched foundation. Stonewall-final offers based on guesses are nothing more than gambles.

TGIM IDEA IN ACTION: For business purposes (who can fathom the political mind?) a complete-as-possible knowledge of the market … actual costs in the market … and sound intelligence about the opponent’s position will greatly enhance your ability to set specific targets and stand your ground like a stone wall, confident in the knowledge that your opponent will accept your “final” offer.

And speaking “finally:” You must be convincing. A last … best … and final offer made with the slightest hint of “but if that isn’t good enough, let us know” will hardly do anything but encourage the opponent to keep pushing for more … More … MORE!

The tone, manner of presentation, and context of a stonewall position must convey your uncompromising firmness.

And that’s TGIM for today. Really. Finally. Except for the small bits in the post script below. (So much for uncompromising firmness.)

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square
Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com   

P.S.  “Always mystify, mislead, and surprise the enemy, if possible; and when you strike and overcome him, never let up in the pursuit so long as your men have strength to follow; for an army routed, if hotly pursued, becomes panic-stricken, and can then be destroyed by half their number. The other rule is, never fight against heavy odds, if by any possible maneuvering you can hurl your own force on only a part, and that the weakest part, of your enemy and crush it. Such tactics will win every time, and a small army may thus destroy a large one in detail, and repeated victory will make it invincible.” That was Stonewall Jackson’s strategic advice to John D. Imboden who commanded an artillery battery at Bull Run and was later promoted Brigadier General himself.

Thank Goodness It's Monday #312

DOWN-TO-THE-WIRE NEGOTIATING

-- PUT TIME ON YOUR SIDE

So they’re at it – again – in Washington DC and in a few state capitols around the nation as well.

Which “it” are they at? Well, for TGIM purposes today, let’s focus on – 

As the 11th hour draws near ...

The Time Element. As legislation-passing, budget-balancing down-to-the-last-minute negotiations move forward (or not), time is one of the major factors that influences the outcome of that negotiation. 

Now, in the world of full-contact politics, this game is often played in a way that no really responsible business person or citizen/neighbor would dare.  

And since TGIM seldom dabbles in the curious hybrid world of political intrigue, we’ll suggest no what-to-do, how-to-do-it solutions for things governmental. 

But down-to-the-wire negotiating is still a legitimate TGIM conversation starter.  

So let’s consider how the time factor influences the outcome of the negotiations you and I are likely to be involved in. And while we’re at we’ll explore some real-world ideas we might use to bring about our desired outcomes. 

“If it weren’t for the last minute, very little would get done.”

That anonymous axiom is packed with much truth.  

The existence of a deadline almost always produces a last-ditch effort by all parties to reach an agreement. It’s a good bet more significant concessions are made in the eleventh hour of most negotiations than in all the preceding negotiating time.  

Of course if the deadline is an otherwise arbitrary one – if, for example, both sides have agreed for their mutual convenience to conclude at a certain time – there will be no great pressure to meet the deadline, only to move it.

But when one or both parties face costly consequences if the deadline is not met, the chances of reaching an agreement are much greater. 

The difficulty, of course, is accurately assessing the “consequences” and deploying your strategy most effectively given that insight. 

In adversary negotiations you are at an advantage if you know your opposition’s deadlines. 

Real world example: If you know that a seller must get an order that day, you can be more insistent that your terms be met. 

If, on the other hand, your opponents know your deadline, you are at a disadvantage. They can draw out the process until your pinch point is almost at hand, putting greater pressure on you to give away more than you’d like. 

• Obviously, then, it makes good sense to find out what your opponents’ real deadlines are.
• And it’s good strategy, whenever possible, not to reveal your deadlines to the other side.

And speaking of pinch points: Many times we go into a negotiation with a self-imposed handicap. We are very much aware of the deadline we have to meet, and this puts pressure on us to make concessions in order to close a deal before the time runs out. 

Don’t pinch yourself. Or if you do, let it be a reminder that it’s likely the other side has time pressures, too. Sure, they may appear unconcerned by the passing of time. But they almost always have deadlines of their own. And beneath the surface, they may be just as anxious as you are to reach an agreement. 

Also a good idea: Take a look at your deadline to see whether it’s as hard-and-fast as it seems. Most deadlines – especially self-imposed deadlines – are more flexible than you may think. Yes, there are times when it really is vital to meet a particular deadline. But in most cases the world isn’t going to come to an end if a specific time limit isn’t met. 

Ask yourself: Is this deadline real? Or is it one that I’ve given myself? If necessary, can I negotiate an extension with the other party or with my own organization? What will happen if I don’t meet the deadline? How serious will the consequences be? What is the likelihood that these consequences will really occur?  

The question, in a nutshell, is:  

Just how great is the risk you’re taking? Answering this can put the importance of your deadline in perspective. It can help you determine how much pressure you’re really under and to what extent you’re making it needlessly difficult for yourself to negotiate your best deal. 

Creating deadlines for others.

Because deadlines tend to be intimidating, you can often spur your negotiating opponents into action by creating deadlines for them. Give them a deadline that’s credible and they’ll have a strong incentive to move at your pace to reach agreement before time runs out.

To make the review very elemental, let’s look at the two sides of a buyer/seller negotiation.

TGIM ACTION IDEAS FOR SELLERS: When you’re in the position of “seller” in a negotiation, you may find deadlines like these will help the other party make the decision you want:

Ø  The custom color they’re interested is going to the first contract in house.

Ø  This offer is good only until July 31.

Ø  If I don’t have your order underway by August 1, I won’t be able to deliver in time for the holidays.

Ø  If we don’t get your deposit by Thursday, we won’t be able to hold it for you.

Ø  The price is going up Labor Day.

TGIM ACTION IDEAS FOR BUYERS: When you’re the buyer in a negotiation, you can also create deadlines for the seller. (Inside insight: Salespeople sometimes welcome having a deadline imposed by you; it helps them negotiate with their own management to get an OK to close a deal.) Here are some examples of deadlines that can get a seller moving: 

Ø  I need the lock-down price, from you or the competition, by tomorrow.

Ø  To get your earnest-money first payment check processed, my boss has to sign off on this PO, and he’s departing for his 10-day vacation cruise this Friday.

Ø  Engineering needs to know the specs and who’s supplying the components by the 15th.

Ø  Accounting is closing out the month so I have to get this on the books before July 29.

One final point: Time limits have a way of intimidating us. As honest – or opportunistic – as the examples above may be, unless we question them, we tend to accept them unthinkingly.

 Real world proof: Look at the front desk of a hotel at check-out time. No matter how inconvenient it may be for them, you’ll see a long line of “guests” trying to meet the checkout deadline -- let’s say, noon -- the hotel has posted. 

If you were one of those people you might rightly conclude the noon checkout is necessary to give the hotel staff time to get the rooms ready for the next guests. But you might also reason that all the rooms won’t be cleaned as the clock strikes twelve. So … if you want to keep your things in the room a little longer, can’t you negotiate a later checkout time with the manager?  

Almost certainly you can. 

TGIM Takeaway: This doesn’t mean you should ignore deadlines. But it does mean you should analyze them to determine how firm and important they are and how much they are worth offset against the other factors you’re negotiating for. 

As for Washington: Now let’s just hope all those politicians have correctly weighed the value of their positions –“positions” meaning the views they hold, the ongoing governmental needs of all the people they represent as well as their place in the legislative process – and do the right thing in a timely manner. 

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373

tgimguy@gmail.com 

P.S.  Budget-balancing wisdom for the time wise: “An inch of time is an inch of gold; but an inch of gold cannot buy an inch of time.” That, it’s claimed, is an Ancient Chinese Proverb.