Shipping 100mln orders in less then 3 days required unprecedented automation and ingenuity. Bravo Alibaba!
Emotions. Your #1 enemy in negotiations?
Lots of articles written about this topic. Emotions make you blind. You deliver “I-have-a-dream” sort of speech and think that you won the heart of your counterpart, then you get frustrated seing that your emotional tirade bounced off the wall, so you start boiling. 🙂
My advice, be yourself! If you shout on your counterpart, apologize and carry on. If you are nervous, pause, explain the nature of your behavior, let your counterpart understand. Don’t be afraid of emotions. Once you cool down and can clearly think, make a recap together so that in your passion you’re not carried away too far.
When you leave the table make sure that all parties have the same version of the event, the result is well noted and follow-up actions planned.
2nd row 5th from the left. Practice (a lot)
Comparative Advantage (or what?)
Let me introduce you Mr. Wassily Leontief, the 1973 Nobel Prize Laureate in economics.
In 1951 Mr. Leontief was working at Harvard University and having access to the US Bureau of Labor statistics decided to imperically test Ricardo’s Comparative Advantage theory (precisely, Heckscher–Ohlin theorem that derives from it). The result of his study is what is known to be the Leontief paradox.
In breif, the comparative advantage theory states that in the free trade economy all countries will specialize in either capital or labour intense products production. The comparative advantage of one country will push out unproductive and uncompetitive industries of the other and vice versa thus establishing an equilibrium.
Ricardo is an apostle of capitalism. His free trade mantra is used (if not abused) by the World Bank, the IMF, WTO and other powerful institutions whose role is to impose and guard free trade on the global scale.
So what’s with Mr. Leontief paradox? Well, he simply proved the theory wrong. While being the most capital intense country in the world, US was and is importing more capital intense products and exports more labour intense products then the rest. The “free” trade is never free. Thanks for proving it, Mr. Leontief!
I’m not sure if David Ricardo would appreciate Mr. Trump’s new tariffs on steel. They just don’t fit his free trade comparative advantage theory…
Othering
Simple and clear illustration of the “othering” rhetoric used by the populists. So why do nations fall into this trap over and over again?
Last week in the news:
- close borders and increase import tariffs
- send out refugees and paperless people
- hang crosses in public places
- Canadians are horrified to learn that mapple syrup is made in the US!
Client Centricity
Where is your client? Still queuing to be served? Confused, intimidated, lost? Then change, transform, evolve before it’s too late.
Love, spoil, surpirse your client.
Your client is a magnet, she can attract or repel many new ones.
Lessons learned this week
Lessons learned this week:
– Think about the pictures in the heads of people you negotiate with.
– Conscientiousness is a great personality trait that would support your personal and professional lives should you develop it
– The speed of macro and micro business environment changes forces us to adapt and improve daily
… and yes, Salah is faster then the ball 🙂
Global Competitiveness
Here are the top 10 economies from the 2017-2018 Global Competitiveness report.
I have come to a great definition of competitiveness. “It is your ability to reach your goals”!
How competitive are you? What makes Switzerland a definite world leader in competition? Can you apply their best practices?
Post-Truth Politics
Nice post-truth politics. No one seems to be ready to negotiate with Kim at the White House. They don’t understand why he wants to meet and what he wants to negotiate.
Whatever the outcome, Kim seems to be on the winning side. Continue reading “Post-Truth Politics”
The Show Must Go On!
I’ve received this message from a friend, who’s happy to have finally signed an agreement with one of his key customers. He works for a multinational corporation, his company is a global market leader and yet, at each negotiation campaign he risks it all. Sounds familiar?
Balance of power is essential in each negotiation process. A junior athlete or a young actor risk signing a contract with a predatory agent. A graduate is most likely to be overworked and underpaid. Why? Because they are on the wrong side of the power scales. They have no leverage in negotiations. What will they lose in case of a non-agreement? Can they afford it?
What would you lose in your situation? Can you walk away without an agreement? What can you offer? How unique are you or your product? And what about your counterpart? Can they afford a non-agreement? Some cases are definitely take-it-or-leave-it. There is no negotiation on the terms&package for the twenty-year-olds. There is no negotiation for a B-brand with the top retailer.
But yet most cases are show-must-go-on! A compromise must and will be found and business will continue.
“I’ll face it with a grin
I’m never giving in
On, with the show”!
Queen
7 Habits
The topic that started bothering me recently is this new fast-food sort of knowledge sharing system that pops up here and there online as the newly discovered truth. Continue reading “7 Habits”