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ECNALUBMA – How clear is your message?

It was an ingenious idea to mirror-write AMBULANCE on the front of the emergency vehicles. The message is communicated correctly when seen through the rear view mirror and helps save precious time as drivers realize that they have to give way.

Think of your own communication style. How clear is it? Are you adjusting it to different recipients? Are you frequently misinterpreted and misunderstood?

Have you heard of the fog-making machines? Well, you might have probably met fog-making people as well then. One of my negotiations counterpart was famous for pumping so much fog in the negotiation room that at a certain moment of time everyone would get lost, confused and frustrated. Would fog-making be a good negotiation strategy? I don’t think so.

If your target is efficiency, go for straight-to-the point precise communication.

Tailor-make your message so that drivers could get it right!

!etuor ennob

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The Fairytale of win-win

Cambridge Dictionary defines win-win as follows: “A win-win situation or result is one that is good for everyone who is involved“

Allow me to finish this definition: “and a win-lose situation or result for those uninvolved”!!!

When the oil company wins a new field development license from the local government, it’s a win-win for both, the oil company secures future profits and the government gets instant cash. But obviously, all other tender participants have lost. It is also undoubtedly a loss for the environment and the nation’s health. Win-win is a coalition game against the third party.

US involvement in the WWII was a win-win with Allies against the Axis Powers. Any solution in buyer-seller negotiation is a win-win against lost competitor. Flower-pollinator win-win is against another plant or insect.

When two parties confront each other, win-win is simply impossible.  They have to create a coalition against the third party to allow a multi-win solution.

Ok, I’m done for today and off to watch football. Hope both teams win 😉

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Golden Rule of Negotiation

Ok, let’s get real. There are no golden rules. There are no rules at all. “There is no spoon!”, remember?

Every day we negotiate, consciously or not, when all of us face multiple choice options, concessions, bargain, plea, shout or cry in order to obtain what we strive for.

If you are a parent, you know how kids negotiate, they use tears, they use the notion of “fairness”, they take your heart a hostage and get through. Do they do that consciously? I don’t think so.

When my cat wants to go outside at 5am he uses a nasty tactics to let himself out. He imitates a baby’s cry. No parent can survive a torcher of a crying baby. The cat is out in a matter of seconds. He is the champion of negotiations! He gets what he wants without the fancy brain of ours, our degrees, artificial intelligence, cloud computing or Wikipedia.

Being a professional negotiator, I see lots of people on the other side of the table. And thank God they read books, follow negotiation classes, hire coaches and get certified. Because the best negotiation skill in the world is that of my cat.

”Il fine giustifica i mezzi”, Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli

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Hello world!

Welcome!

This is my first post here. I’ve decided to start my own blog on negotiations.

This is something I love, I live from and I’d like to share with you!

Since LinkedIn doesn’t allow text formating and people mainly forward their bits of knowledge, I’ll use this blog to improve the readability of my LinkedIn communications.

See you around!