I apologize to anyone who doesn’t like Mel Brooks (is this even possible?) – but I found his negotiation stories irresistible. And we can all learn invaluable lessons from them. So here are 3 more in Part 3, the final chapter (I promise). For those who missed Part 1 and Part 2, lessons we can learn from Brooks include:
- Failure can lead to success if you learn from it,
- The value of role-playing,
- The power of a great Plan B/leverage,
- Friends do favors for friends, and
- When and where you negotiate can make or break your deal.
6. Gather your strategic intelligence
Brooks needed studios to finance his films, and that meant negotiating with its executives and getting the green light – and lots of greenbacks – from them.
Here is how he described part of his negotiation due diligence. Studio executives, he wrote, are:
“funny people. If you need something from them it’s always good to find out what kind of mood they’re in first. Check with their secretary or fellow filmmakers who’ve recently dealt with them. They can be wonderful, friendly, and supportive . . . or they can behave like downright tyrants. It depends on their personality and mood.”
Regular column readers will recognize the extraordinary value of strategic intelligence gathering about your counterparts.
7. Perseverance pays off
The legendary music mogul David Geffen, the wealthiest person in the global entertainment industry with about a $9 billion net worth, contacted Brooks with the idea to turn Brooks’ movie The Producers into a Broadway musical.
Geffen told Brooks “[i]t would be the funniest show ever done on Broadway.”
Brooks responded:
“It was an interesting idea, but I was too busy with Brooksfilms [his film company] at the time, so I said, ‘David, it’s a perfectly good little movie. I won an Academy Award for the screenplay! Let’s leave it at that.’
“… But he wouldn’t leave it at that. David is a guy who won’t easily take no for an answer. He called me nearly every week for a few months explaining why we had to make it. He was relentless and finally he wore me down. I agreed to meet with him. He lectured me, chapter and verse, about why he was sure a Broadway version of The Producers would be so successful.
“I finally caved in and said, “Okay. Let’s do it.”
Of course, The Producers musical went on to become a massive commercial and critical success, winning a record-breaking 12 Tony Awards.
It’s no wonder Geffen has been so successful! Perseverance pays off.
8. Know your counterpart’s hot buttons
While Nathan Lane won the Best Actor Tony Award opposite Matthew Broderick in the New York production of The Producers and received rave reviews, he was not interested in reprising his role for its London production. Another great actor, Academy Award-winner Richard Dreyfuss, was originally cast for it.
But then disaster struck when Dreyfuss threw his back out at an early rehearsal, making it impossible for him to be ready to perform by opening night. So Brooks and his director Susan Stroman called Lane to “beg him to come over and save the show.”
Here’s how Brooks described the call/negotiation:
“When Stro called Nathan I put my ear next to the phone, praying that Nathan would say yes. I grew desperate when I heard Nathan say, ‘No, not in a million years. I need a break from Max Bialystock [the role he played in NY]. I can no longer do that part.’
“I didn’t know what to do; I was panicking. Then it came to me and I whispered in Stro’s ear: ‘Cry.’
“She held her hand over the phone and said to me, ‘What?’
“I said, ‘Start crying! He’s a softie! He won’t turn you down.’
“She said, ‘I can’t.’
“I said, ‘You must! Cry, cry!’
“So Stro said in a tearful voice, ‘All right, Nathan. I understand. I don’t blame you. I still love you.’ Her cries growing with each word.
“There was a long pause on the phone. And then finally I heard Nathan angrily shout. ‘All right, dammit. I’ll be there on the weekend.’”
Latz’s Lesson: Strategic intelligence gathering. Perseverance. And hot buttons. All played critical roles (ha!) in Brooks’ negotiation successes.
* Marty Latz is the founder of Latz Negotiation, a national negotiation training and consulting company that helps individuals and organizations achieve better results with best practices based on the experts’ research. He can be reached at 480.951.3222 or Marty@LatzNegotiation.com.