To conclude my trilogy of blog posts about negotiation styles, here are my Top Seven Characteristics of Conflict Avoiders: 1. Strong need to avoid conflict, especially open conflict 2. Belief that almost all conflict is unproductive 3. Extremely uncomfortable with...
Walt Disney announced on Monday its acquisition of Marvel Entertainment in a $4 billion deal. Both sides stand to benefit. Marvel gains access to Walt Disney’s powerful marketing and distribution system, including Disney’s theme parks and cable television...
The Phoenix Coyotes professional hockey franchise is facing a bankruptcy court auction this week. One likely bidder is Jim Balsillie, co-CEO of Research In Motion (which makes the Blackberry). He wants to relocate the team to Ontario, a move opposed by the NHL. While...
In her Monday New York Times article, “Trying to Sell Your Business? Think Like a Buyer,” Barbara Taylor asks, “Why is it so difficult for business owners to put themselves in the shoes of a potential buyer?” One of the main reasons is the vast...
In her Tuesday New York Times article, “So How’s It Going? ,” Jennifer Walzer states that she needed “to come up with a better way to track what happens in the office when I’m not there – and even when I am.” She then...
If you’re in purchasing or procurement, how can you reduce your costs, increase your margins, and still ensure the quality of service required from your vendors? When your vendor contracts come up for renewal, bid out the contract and come up with several...
In a Forbes.com article last week, Jerry Kennelly, a 30-year Silicon Valley veteran, described a negotiation he was involved in while at Inktomi, one of the first internet search engines, as follows: “There were two of us, and when we went into the room we faced...
A friend recently purchased a used car “as is” for around $5,000 from a dealer. About 45 days later the transmission tanked. Unfortunately, the problem appeared after the state “lemon law” warranty expired. My friend obtained several estimates...
In her recent FT.com column, Memory doesn’t matter when you have the net, Lucy Kellaway humorously recounts recent memory lapses and multi-tasking failures. She considers several solutions, one of which is to make lists. When preparing for a significant...
