A continuing series on the elements of “business diplomacy” – the art of drawing parties together for mutual benefit and for building sustainable long-term business relationships.

Since I initiated this newsletter, I have received hundreds of emails; many that chronicle personal experiences with business negotiation. Some of you firmly suggested that I am ‘off-path’ on my attempt to promote ‘sustainability through mutual benefit/mutual satisfaction’ as a more desirable negotiation modality.

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A continuing series on the elements of “business diplomacy” – the art of drawing parties together for mutual benefit and for building sustainable long-term business relationships.

Decision-makers should never underestimate the power of retribution, spite, and loathing in the world of business, not to mention a specific competitor’s desire to be the only player at the top of the hill.

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The Middle East: Words that provoke simultaneous mystery and myth.

It is a region that carries many stereotypes in the West; broad generalizations about a diverse and expansive culture. To be honest, in my twenty years of shuttling between North America and my former homeland, I have found plenty of stereotypes held on both sides.

Yet, people from East and West are able to find enough commonality to work around the fiction and establish durable relationships and sustainable partnerships - many of which have been very profitable. How? The answer to that question has fueled my ambitions and my business for almost a quarter century.

An ongoing series of articles illustrating the elements of “business diplomacy” – the art of drawing parties together for mutual benefit and for building sustainable long-term business relationships.

The news these days makes me want to cry. Don’t we ever learn from our history? Wasn’t the Great Depression ‘great’ enough to teach us that unregulated, dishonorable people will do bad things to our financial system and our economy?

Of course, we all know that learning is an individual experience. Even the most valuable lessons may mean different things to different people. In the group experience, lessons are diluted by variables in interpretation and perception. How does a group go about applying a ‘valuable’ lesson if it can’t even agree on the causes (or effects) of a given situation? The old saying about pearls before swine comes to mind.

Read the rest of this entry »

An ongoing series of articles illustrating the elements of “business diplomacy” – the art of drawing parties together for mutual benefit and for building sustainable long-term business relationships.

The news these days makes me want to cry. Don’t we ever learn from our history? Wasn’t the Great Depression ‘great’ enough to teach us that unregulated, dishonorable people will do bad things to our financial system and our economy?

Of course, we all know that learning is an individual experience. Even the most valuable lessons may mean different things to different people. In the group experience, lessons are diluted by variables in interpretation and perception. How does a group go about applying a ‘valuable’ lesson if it can’t even agree on the causes (or effects) of a given situation? The old saying about pearls before swine comes to mind.

Read the rest of this entry »

The fifth installment in a continuing series on the elements of “business diplomacy” - the art of drawing parties together for mutual benefit and for building sustainable long-term business relationships.

I have suggested that negotiation is like a living play where the participants take on certain roles according to a scripted plan. I use the metaphor of the ‘play’ to contradict the other popular metaphor: that negotiation is like a war.

Too many people use the allegory of warfare for activities involving human communication. Relationships should be constructive and build toward common understanding. Understanding is best achieved when people are thoughtful and considerate; even to the point where it gives the appearance of weakness. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve sat down on the opposite side of a table and felt as though I was facing a teaming horde of barbarians ready to slash and burn everything.

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The fourth installment in a continuing series on the elements of “business diplomacy” - the art of drawing parties together for mutual benefit and for building sustainable long-term business relationships. 

My intention for sharing my experiences and observations in business negotiation is not purely for helping my friends gain a new tactical advantage in their ongoing and future business relationships (of course, that wouldn’t hurt). My hope is that by sharing these strategies, more practitioners may achieve the balance of low cost and higher long-term productivity; the kind of balance that is vital in nearly every successful business negotiation I have engaged in the last twenty-odd years. 

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