The ability to negotiate properly is a prerequisite for anyone who wants to go into business. The slightest mistake can lead to unpleasant consequences, such as misunderstanding on the part of business partners, failure to conclude a transaction, etc. Of course, such a skill comes with experience. Every successful businessman has his own style of negotiating. Here are some of the tricks that tycoons do to achieve their goals and succeed.
Alfred Sloan: Writing Communication
Alfred Sloan was the owner of one of the world's largest automotive corporations General Motors. His organization employed 600 thousand people. Can you imagine how difficult it is to manage such a gigantic organization? However, Sloan was an outstanding leader. He is even credited with inventing a modern corporate structure.
At any official meeting, Sloan simply voiced the goal, then listened to what each person wanted to say, and quickly left. The negotiations took a little time, as you might have guessed. Then the businessman through assistants handed over notes to each manager, where it was indicated who would carry out what work, what would be his responsibilities, as well as the deadline for submitting projects. Plus, in a note, Sloan summarized everything that was said at the meeting and wrote his comments or suggestions.
Ben Horowitz: a face-to-face meeting
Ben is a co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz, a venture capital firm. The businessman devotes the bulk of his time to teaching novice leaders and is not afraid to share the secrets of his success. Face-to-face negotiations, Ben considers the most effective way of interaction, since this is how you can convey your point of view to a person and get constructive feedback.
If you need to attend the meeting, then Ben instructs the employee to draw up an agenda. The businessman is sure that at the meeting the leader should speak ten percent, and ninety percent should listen.
Elon Musk: rigidity is the key to success
The founder and CEO of SpaceX, as well as the co-founder and CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk indiscriminately dismisses the person who broke the deadline for the project. Moreover, he is not interested in good reasons or the experience of an employee in a corporation. I didn’t manage - I was left without work.
Ilon minimizes the number of meetings and negotiates only in case of urgent issues and problems. The businessman insists that a person should leave the office if he does not represent value for further discussion: he does not participate in it, cannot offer anything, or negotiations do not personally benefit him. Just sitting and spending your time in a meeting that is not needed or if you have already spoken out makes no sense.
Cheryl Sandberg: everything is according to plan
Facebook COO Cheryl Sandberg brings a notepad to the meeting. This notebook contains a list of items for discussion and action. As soon as one point is executed, she crosses it out and tears off the page. Then proceeds to the next - and so on in order. Once all issues are resolved, the meeting ends.
Steve Jobs: only his
The former Apple CEO hated having a lot of people in the negotiations because it was difficult to avoid chaos in such an atmosphere. Like it or not, but how many people have so many opinions, so it’s better to narrow the circle. One day, Steve came to the next business meeting and noticed a woman who, for some reason, had not previously been present at the negotiations. He asked her to introduce herself and asked about the reasons for her absence.When the employee answered, Steve said that there was no reason for the woman to attend the meeting further and asked to leave. By the way, when Barack Obama invited him to one event, Jobs refused because of the large list of guests.
Marissa Mayer: meticulousness above all
Former Yahoo CEO must have tested staff for strength. Everyone knew that when Marissa brought an idea, it begins to bombard you with questions, for example, how did you come up with such an idea, what kind of research did you do, how long did it take you, etc. It was just for Mayer to get to the bottom essence.
Larry Page: urgency is urgent
The co-founder of Google sent his subordinates instructions on how to effectively conduct meetings. Larry said no decision should wait for a meeting. If it is important, urgent and the manager cannot manage on his own, then negotiations need to be planned immediately, without delay.
Mark Parker: the balance between creativity and logic
Nike's CEO comes to every meeting with a notepad that contains sketches of all his ideas. In 2009, cyclist Lance Armstrong was at a business meeting with Parker, who painted all the time in his notebook. At the end of the meeting, Armstrong asked to see what he painted. When he showed, Lance admired: a perfect sneaker was depicted on a piece of paper.
Mark believes that drawing helps to start the brainstorming process, to find the perfect balance between creativity and logic, which is necessary for successful business.
Jeremy Stoppelman: Personal Psychologist
Yelp's CEO meets face-to-face with each of his subordinates every week. The businessman admits that he feels himself a psychologist in the company. Nevertheless, he is interested in hearing the opinion of each employee regarding business development, learning about his fears, fears, listening to suggestions and wishes. Moreover, Jeremy discusses not only professional matters, but also personal issues.
Phil Libin: outsiders in the negotiations
The Evernote Co-Founder invites people from another area or department to negotiate. In this way, leaders are trained. Phil got the idea from a friend who once served on a nuclear submarine. To be an officer of such a submarine, you had to know how to do someone else's work.
Jeff Bezos: Conflict-Free is Unacceptable
Amazon's CEO is convinced that there is nothing to hinder a business’s development process as employees and leaders avoid conflicts. When people compromise and agree to terms they don’t like in order to keep the peace, then the corporation will fail sooner or later. Jeff encourages subordinates to engage in debate and discussion, to express their point of view.