“You don’t have the cards right now,” U.S. President Trump berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the now infamous Oval Office Scolding that further unraveled the U.S.-Ukraine relationship. That meeting, which both parties had presumably intended to be a...
Vito Corleone in The Godfather famously made an “offer he can’t refuse” when “asking” for a movie part for his godson from a film producer. It worked. Why? The film producer’s alternative, or Plan B, to refusing: death. That’s powerful leverage! A negotiation threat...
President Ronald Reagan in 1981 threatened 12,000 striking air-traffic controllers with the loss of their jobs if they did not report back to work “within 48 hours” of his statement. 11,359 did not comply. He fired them. According to former Northwestern Professors...
I was recently interviewed on France’s public television station concerning the Israeli-Hamas hostage negotiation deal. I was asked who should get credit for negotiating an agreement that in Phase One is intended to bring a ceasefire, the return of 33 Israeli...
There’s one main negotiation reason procurement professionals/buyers send out Requests for Proposals (RFPs) – to create leverage by developing better Plan Bs to their Plan A (which is not buying or just sticking with its incumbent). Of course, sellers also seek...
The major deal points for the sale of my client’s company were set. But we still needed to negotiate terms and conditions (Ts and Cs). And both sides needed it done quickly. As a result, my client insisted that we send a draft “final” contract, with very little room...
Years ago, a potential client asked me to help him negotiate and sell some commercial real estate in Phoenix. After he agreed to my fee, I sent him my standard two-page consulting contract to review and sign. Several days later, he suggested we just do this on a...
I recently contacted a landscape designer to get a bid on our backyard and he came out to explore our thoughts. After checking everything out, he said he would put together his suggestions. He called a few days later and asked me to come to his nursery so he could...
No one is perfect. And everyone makes mistakes. Sometimes these mistakes are minor, but other times we really mess up. It’s human. Of course, companies mess up, too. So, what can we do, especially if you and/or your company need to repair the relationship and rebuild...
