Posted on July 2nd, 2009 by admin
In George Lucas second Star Wars movie - The Empire Strikes Back - there is a classic scene where Luke Skywalker is taking Jedi lessons from master Yoda. Luke is standing on his hands, with Yoda sitting on his feet. Yoda tells him to lift up his X-Wing Fighter using only his mind. Luke protests, saying that it is impossible, but then tries. For a few dramatic seconds, the ship is moving but then sinks back into the swamp again. A few moments later, Yoda - using only the Force - lifts the ship and puts it on steady ground, enabling Luke to leave the planet and save his friends.
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Lesson taught: Luke failed because he thought the task was impossible. He failed because he had the wrong attitude.
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As an advisor to job seekers wanting to know how to negotiate the salary, I cannot claim to be a master Yoda. I do, however, meet the same challenge quite often. Again and again I get in particular one type of questions where the questions as such are maybe more important than the answers to them. These are questions like: What can I hope for in the salary negotiation if I am unemployed? How far can I push it if I don’t have a job, when will the employer kick me out from the negotiation? And so on.
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To these people, I always answer the same thing: You are asking the wrong questions! By asking such questions, the employer has already won the salary negotiation, even before it has started. Or, referring to Luke and Yoda, you’ll never be able to lift your X-Wing Fighter with an attitude like that!
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The reaction to my answer is most often frustration or even irritation. This is understandable from a psychological point of view. Once you get stuck in negative thought it feels best to stick with them. A change of attitude causes anxiety.
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A change of attitude is, however, completely necessary in these cases. Being unemploy Read more »
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Posted on July 1st, 2009 by admin
Many people fail to realize all the possible options when making a decision. Often they are stuck between choices, and yet, not realizing that not making a choice is a third choice. But did you know there’s a fourth choice that you probably have never considered. Of course, if you’ve ever watched a frustrated child try to play a game of chess, you will quickly realize how silly it is that you missed it.
You see, turning the chess board upside down is an option too. Of course, it is just like choosing not to play. But it isn’t exactly choosing not to play. Rather it is reneging on your previous word of honor and agreement to play. Walking away is one form of this option, but turning the entire chess board upside down is completely another option.
It’s very similar to what the Russians, who pounded their fists on the table when trying new to negotiate with Ronald Reagan and his team in the SALT II treaties to disarm nuclear weapons. The Russians pounded their fists on the table and left the room. Ronald Reagan didn’t know what to do, he just said; “What was that all about?”
When someone does this to you in a negotiation, or playing a game or even in a business situation it actually gives you the upper hand if you will simply observe and just let it play out. The Chinese are very good at simply observing this without making any facial expressions or letting the other party know what they are thinking, as they turn the board upside down and walk away. They just sit there emotion-less, and wait to engage in negotiation at a later date.
Kim Jong ill of North Korea, basically did the same thing when he left the six party talks, and said he would never sit down to discuss nuclear weapons disarmament again. At that point he had the upper hand and he was putting a challenge to the rest of the world and the United Nations, in saying; “I Read more »
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Posted on June 30th, 2009 by admin
Over the years I’ve had to sign a lot of documents while doing business, plenty of contracts stipulating the details of particular agreements, duration of service and consequences in the event of contract breach.
I was fortunate to receive guidance early in my career from an industry vet who mentored me for a while. He made two very important points regarding agreements that have proven true for me:
� Agreements are only as solid as the individuals making them, and
� Agreements are rarely for the parties involved; they serve to minimize third party interference.
Point one is a reference to character; no matter how nice the deal may seem to be, success often comes down to who you are dealing with, not what you agree on.
Point two is about the nature of the game. We all want to get paid right? Well, there are plenty of folks who would love to get paid at your expense.
Holes in any agreement appear like a bullseye to those who seek gain by creating division. If you and I have an agreement which is both clear and thorough, an aggressive third party would have a hard time driving a wedge between our relationship and our desired outcome.
I have done business with long time friends, family members as well as people I hardly knew. The singular difference between a good or bad outcome has always come down to clarity in the contract language.
Make sure you get clarity in writing in all contracts and agreements!
Roger E Lear, also known as REL, has been creating and producing music for over 22 years. He has helped many new as well as established artists create money making music. He has built his career as a full time music producer by providing excellent quality music production and song writing servic Read more »
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