It’s not what you do, it’s how you do it.
Claridges – A great place to negotiate!
Negotiation isn’t just about following a process, a lot depends on your style. The vibe, the atmosphere, the relationship can all impact the results.
This video was made a couple of years ago with my friends and colleagues at NLP Dynamics, Neurominds and Mindset Comms. It was one of a series that looked at your style of negotiation and how important that is.
So to give you one example, a few years back there was a multi-billion dollar merger taking place between Glencore and Xstrata, two of the largest commodities companies in the world. Unfortunately, the major shareholders of Xstrata, the royal family of Qatar, didn’t like the terms and conditions of the deal and blocked it.
So how was the situation resolved?
Well, it turns out the Qatar royal family were very good friends with Tony Blair, who was also good friends with the chief exec of Glencore. So they all met up for dinner at Claridges and bashed it out. A multi-billion dollar problem solved by good food and fine wine.
So, maybe you’ve been negotiating by email and it’s not going the right way, perhaps a change of style can turn it around. If you’ve been negotiating by email, pick up the phone. Maybe you’ve been on the phone and its still not working out, so meet face-to-face. Maybe you’ve meeting at your office, meet at theirs. Maybe meet at the coffee shop or at the restaurant. Maybe even try Claridges!
We’re not saying you do this all the time but a small change of dynamic like this can be the thing that makes all the difference and gets you your outcome.
Wishing you all the best with your negotiations.