Easy Negotiation Techniques

Know When to Fold and When to Run

My father-in-law,Charlie, came to the US with his family when he was just thirteen. After going through processing at Ellis Island, they ended up in Mckeesport, Pennsylvania to join the Hungarian community there.

Charlie already had the entrepreneurial spirit at that young age, so he started off by delivering water to the workers at the steel mill. According to the family stories, like most entrepreneurs, Charlie’s business ventures often failed, but he dusted himself off and always pursued another dream. As the stories go, some of his more memorable ventures included owning and operating the “Flora Dora” hotel, restaurant & bar in PA; owning a butcher shop in Dearborn, Michigan and ultimately becoming a Quality Control Inspector at Ford Motor Company.

Charlie was not only an entrepreneur at heart, but he also was a very adaptable and creative individual. For example, when he applied for the job at Ford, he asked what they needed (customer focus). The response was “quality control inspectors.” Without a clue as to what that meant, let alone what the job might entail, Charlie convinced them that he was an expert in quality control inspection and retired from that position 17 years later.

The best story, however, relates to his “pre-Flora Dora” days. Not one to overlook an opportunity, Charlie began to brew his own beer and market it to his customers at the “speakeasy” he was running in PA during the “Prohibition” era. After all, he was committed to focusing on his customers’ needs, and it just happened to be during prohibition, so why not fill their need for beer. Apparently his beer was among the best being brewed during that time, and the word spread quickly. In fact, it spread all the way from PA to NY, which got Charlie an invitation to meet with Dutch Schultz, a recognized underworld personality who loomed large in illegal beer and liquor distribution among other enterprises.

Recognizing an opportunity for growth, Charlie went off to negotiate with Dutch in New York City. Unfortunately, it was another dream that did not work out for him. After a successful negotiation with Dutch in the morning, Charlie heard on the radio that Dutch had been gunned down just a couple of hours after their meeting. Charlie, immediately recognized a lost opportunity, and decided not to stay in town to try a negotiate a deal with the new “boss.” The way the family tells it, he did not pause to review the alternatives. Instead, he hightailed it to the train station and left on the next train out before some one came looking for him.

In addition to all of his other attributes, Charlie was smart enough to recognize that in this situation the risks outweighed the potential rewards. His quick assessment was that it had become a “no win” situation for him and it was time to walk — or in this case — run away from the “deal’.” In his mind, Charlie had a clearly defined bottom line and he had the confidence and clarity to walk away!

Mr. Newman has roughly 40 years of industry experience – 28 years as part of the Ford Motor Company management team, and more recently, as President and COO of the Strategic Alliances Consulting Group, Inc. His business background encompasses various disciplines including purchasing, finance, business planning and international business development.

On behalf of Ford Motor Company and his other clients, Mr. Newman successfully negotiated a variety of joint ventures,, licensing agreements acquisitions and divestitures around the world. As President and COO of Strategic Alliances, he developed a strategic and business planning process which was implemented successfully at many automotive supplier operations in North America and in Europe, at a charitable organization and at several entrepreneurial business enterprises.

To read more about Mr. Newman’s business insights on business alliances, negotiation and other must have business tips, read his Book, Beyond the Chicken Dance (http://www.beyondthechickendance.com)