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Relationship Tip: Be a student with expertise, rather than an expert
Saturday, July 21st, 2007

As people talk about a particular area, they develop expertise in that area.  This is good because people should learn from their experience.  Growing up at my family’s lodge, we took it a step further and had a list of questions that guests asked (frequently!) with the answers.  Here was one of the questions and the answer (to the best of my memory): 

 Q:  What is your experience?

A:  Good or bad?  Doing what?

 This question and answer illustrates, for me, that we should always learn from experience, whether it is positive or negative. 

Years in procurement showed me a variety of things such as:

A rookie may be the wrong choice on a project because the rookie lacks experience today.  Over time, that rookie can gain the experience and become the right choice.

A person who sees himself or herself as an expert often finds it difficult to ask questions, learn from others, and listen with an open mind.  As a result, if the problem faced is different from what the expert has seein in the past, there may be better options than engaging the expert.

While people are learning about an area, they are developing expertise and their knowledge may compliment our own. 

Real solutions have to be tailored to the actual problem.  Often, the issue that is identified is a symptom of a bigger problem.

There is a lot of truth to the engineering definition of an expert as “an unknown drip under pressure.”

Stated differently, expertise can grow while experts shrink.

Questions, research, challenging my own thinking, looking at the situation from different perspectives, and talking with people are five ways that I grow my expertise. 

What do you think?  Is it better to be a student with expertise, or to be an expert?  What steps are you taking based on your answer to that question?

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Relationship Tip: Focus on Factors You Can Control
Saturday, July 14th, 2007

Suppliers try to force customers to change.  Customers try to force suppliers to change.  

Trying to change someone else leads to:

Conflict 

Frustration for the parties

Backlash from the party pressured to change

Resentment and abandonment of the relationship

Instead of trying to change someone else, focus on factors that are within your control.  This can be done by:

Changing perspectives

Accepting the other party’s right to control itself

Exploring the issues that led the other party to take the action it can

Asking the other party to take specific action and explaining why you are asking

Talking about the issue and seeking options that address all parties’ concerns and needs

Agreeing to disagree on the issue and, then, making the best decision you can based on the facts as they currently exist

Finding and implementing workarounds that do not require change by the other parties to the relationship

What results can these approaches generate for you?  

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Trouble with MBAs
Monday, June 25th, 2007

News flash…  According to the April 30, 2007, Fortune Magazine, it seems that MBA programs are graduating students that have technical knowledge and know how to measure all sorts of things.  Where the programs need to improve is in helping people learn interpersonal, teambuilding, communication, and networking skills. 

What can be done to deal with the emphasis on technical knowledge and measurement?  How can programs improve in the practical skills? 

Technical Knowledge

In the context of technical knowledge, one of the areas where issues often arise is in finance.  Too often, finance classes in MBA programs relate more to doing NPV calculations and opportunity cost calculations, rather than helping people understand why finance matters to them and how finance issues arise.

Imagine sitting in an MBA finance class and having the instructor tell the class how to turn on their calculator and explain what each of the buttons did…  Been there.  Done that.  Another instructor heard about the class and stepped in to teach what people needed to learn.  They needed to be able to answer questions like:

What did the financial ratios mean? 

How did NPV impact business decisions? 

What results were good (or bad) and how should the results be used?

If the results were below expectations, how would this impact the business and what could be done to improve the results? 

Measurement

There is a saying that if something can’t be measured, it doesn’t exist.  Beyond that, organizations spend a lot of money validating what they already know.  These are two areas where  many people and common sense suggest that there is too much emphasis on measurement.

It is amazing to know how many things get measured.  In some purchasing and procurement organizations (perhaps other organizations as well), managers are evaluated on metrics like: 

Savings they negotiate

Supplier diversity results

Compliance with corporate policies

Whether they use their vacation time

Timeliness of completing the contract

Documentation to support the contract

Client satisfaction with the results and support

Many of these metrics can change independent of the business results that are achieved.  At the end of the day, the products, services, relationship, and terms of a contract have to meet business needs.  Few organizations have a way to measure this. 

Practical Skills

Think about the practical skills that a person needs to have if the person is going to add value in a contract negotiation.  The list might include skills like: 

Planning

Negotiation

Networking 

Teambuilding 

Applied ethics

Communication

Decision making

Problem solving

Critical thinking  

Conflict resolution

Time management 

Project management

Relationship management

How many people learn these skills in school, at any level?  Few seem to do so.  Think about how schools could teach these skills.  As a starting point, here are a few ideas of how these skills might be included in substantive subjects…

After answering a question, the instructor could ask the students to come up with a plan for implementing the solution.  What would they do if they were trying to apply the information in a real world situation?

A second alternative is that instructors might ask students what it means for them.

Rather than just talking about building teams in classes on teambuilding, students could be required to apply the information they learn in teambuilding classes in other courses as they create project teams.  They could be required to develop a project plan and a timeline. 

 Questions could be posed that require students to break projects down into manageable pieces.

What other steps might be used to help students learn practical skills?  Is this an effort that should be undertaken?  Alternatively, consider how employers might help employees learn these skills.

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Negotiation Scenarios: Dealing with “NO”
Sunday, June 24th, 2007

Suppose that you are negotiating an important deal and the other party says “NO!” to your request.  Think about how this might arise for you.

Situations like this often arise in the contexts of contract negotiations, disputes between parties, or when people are trying to develop processes that allow them to work together.

How do you react when faced with such situations?

There are three basic reactions:

Reaction 1.  Accept “no” as the answer.

Reaction 2.  Try to change “no” to “yes.”

Reaction 3.  Try to understand the “no.” 

If it is important to resolve the dispute and the other options have been exhausted, which of these options is/are most likely to be successful?

Evaluation of Options

Reaction 1 may work.  It is most likely to work if the other person respects and values your advice or the dialogue continues.  Sometimes, an idea “grows” on someone.   

Many use Reaction 2 and try to change the other person.  Changing someone else requires an awful lot of effort and, even with the effort, it seldom works over the long-term. Beyond that, the use of this option can cause resentment. How many people really want others telling them what to do?

The approach which is most likely to be successful with an important negotiation is Reaction 3.  With Reaction 3, people are changing themselves.  This is much easier than changing someone else.  Reaction 3 involves trying to see the world through the other person’s eyes and understand what matters to that other person.  When people do this, they are better positioned to

Know if the other person needs what they are offering.

Modify the suggestion to meet the other person’s needs.

Build a relationship with the other person.

Once another person’s perspective is understood, it is easier to know how and whether to proceed. 

Trusted Advisor

Sometimes, people use the term “trusted advisor.”  A trusted advisor is most likely to use Reaction 3.  Note that the use of Reaction 3 does not make someone a trusted advisor, in and of itself. 

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Negotiation Scenario: Refusal to Negotiate Contract Terms
Thursday, June 14th, 2007

In a discussion yesterday, Bill complained that the other parties to his negotiations refuse to change the terms of their agreements.  This can be a challenge.  There are several possibilities though. 

When faced with this situation, what options does a person have?  Let’s consider the obvious choices as well as some of the more sophisticated options.

Obvious Choices

The obvious choices here are:

Walk away

Agree to the terms

Adjust the price or offer to reflect the terms

Sophisticated Negotiations

News flash… There are many potential opportunities to “negotiate” contracts that are not subject to negotiation.  Depending on the situation, there may be opportunities to “negotiate” by not negotiating.  Here are four possibilities for your consideration…  

Suppose that the parties have six or eight contracts with each other.  Auditing those contracts, validating payment, processing invoices, and cutting checks may cost a lot of money.  The parties might reduce their administrative resources by issuing schedules or work orders under a single master agreement.  When they do so, the parties might:

Consolidated billing and payment.
Select of a single due date for payment.
Use electronic payment or invoicing.

In some cases, the agreement which is not subject to negotiation can lead to opportunities that are subject to negotiation. Many consulting firms take this approach with “scoping studies,” analyses, or development of requirements.  As the parties become accustomed to working with each other, they may find other opportunities and the contracts may become more even handed, even if they still are not negotiable.

Educate, rather than negotiating.  Often, the other party has limited understanding of what its own contract requires.  If you see areas of disconnect or can suggest ways that will help the other party better achieve its objectives, you may find the other party asking to change the contract.  The best way to handle this is to read the contract from the other party’s perspective, process the information, and ask the other party to walk through the contract to help you be sure that you understand what it is seeking.

Plant seeds and nurture them.  If you are negotiating with the same firms over and over, rather than demanding the homerun, ask questions and suggest possibilities.  The other party may be unwilling to make adjustments on a current contract. If you are consistent though, the revisions you are seeking may appear in a future contract.

Conclusion

There are always opportunities to negotiate contract terms.  Sometimes, these opportunities are obvious.  In other cases, it takes skill to raise the issues in a way that allows negotiation.  Rather than focusing on yourself, consider what the other party is trying to accomplish.  This greatly increases your likelihood of success in negotiating the contracts where the other party refuses to negotiate. 

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Tips for positive feedback
Monday, June 11th, 2007

Think about positive feedback that you have received over the years.  Use your experience in deciding what is to be said.  At a more tactical level, here are a few tips… 

Tip 1.  Be sincere. 

Tip 2.  Consider why the feedback is being given and the message that the recipient is intended to hear.

Tip 3.  Give the feedback and stop.  If the hope is that the person will hear something as positive, avoid “ifs, ands, buts, and exceptions.”  When a person is told, “you did a great job, but…,” what the person hears is “but…” 

Tip 4.  Choose words that will be heard in the spirit that is intended.

Tip 5.  If the feedback is being given in a business setting, keep the feedback relevant to the business activities.

last updated 7/27/2008

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Negotiation Scenarios: Dealing with Team Conflict
Thursday, June 7th, 2007

Joe and Sally are supposed to be working together on a project.  There is only one problem.  They disagree about the results that are to be achieved, the parameters that the solution should satisfy, and the decision criteria.  In a situation like this, if Joe and Sally push forward, they are likely to end up ready to kill each other.  (Hopefully, that is just a figure of speech.  Sometimes though, a person might wonder…)

When faced with a situation like this, what can Joe, Sally, or other members of the team do?  In other words, how can Joe, Sally, or another member of the team help the team stay on track and avoid implosion?

What I encourage teams to do when facing issues like this is to take a step back.  Look at the big picture.  Ask questions like:

Why is this project important? 

What are we trying to accomplish?

What constraints need to be satisfied?

How will we decide if the project has been successful?

When will we decide if the project has been successful?

What does success look like?  What conditions will exist?  What conditions will not exist?  Who will be evaluating our success and what results are they expecting?

Ideally, these questions should be answered at the beginning of the project and refined as the project proceeds.  When this is done, each time the project starts to get off track, Joe, Sally, or some other team member can bring the discussion back on track by bringing the team back to the vision, constraints, goals, and definitions of success.

At the end of the day, keeping the team on track and moving forward is the responsibility of each team member, not merely the team leader.

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