Water Under the Bridge

One of the clients I worked with wanted a refresher course on negotiation. And not the full page ad like you see in the airline magazines next to the ad for; “even cheaper and just as effective” noise cancelling headphones. They specifically asked for a catchy outline that sales people can even remember. So I negotiated a fee and introduced them to the BOP, MOP and STOP method. Now I am not a negotiating expert but have negotiated comprehensive agreements with HP, Boeing, Intel, Fannie Mae, Lockheed Martin, etc. So I get it. Here is the mindset I proffered to be taken into every negotiation; BOP; is defined as the Best Outcome Possible, highest price paid for the product/service one can conceive to be realistic under perfect circumstances. MOP; is the Minimal Outcome Possible or the lowest price you will accept for your product and service in a negotiated agreement. STOP; is any number below MOP that is unacceptable value and you walk away from the negotiation. Now I purposefully omitt...

Okay, I now believe I am onto something. And not like Walker Texas Ranger with the mono-expressive mug and the kick somebody’s ass in the process onto something, oh no, it is more of an “Ah-Ha!” moment like Agent Dave Kujan in the Usual Suspects when he realizes he just was spun a tall tale by Kaiser Soze himself. Decision process has been addressed by many, and almost all more qualified in formal, scientific and practical education then me. So I take the position of being one of the Cult of the Amateur , (great read by the way), monkeys and I proffer; Decisoneering (TM Pending Viral Adoption). Decisioneering is the over-engineering of a simple decision because you can. In fact by using Decisioneering often the event that drove the decision point is over, closed out and has expired by the time the Decisioneered solution has been finalized. It is the equivalent of deciding whether to swat and kill a fly now with whatever is at hand or, via researching, proposing, socializing, re-rese...

It was a dark and stormy night, actually it was clear warm and I was stuck in traffic on the bridge over the Columbia River heading from Portland into Washington. While the HOV lane was available it was moving only slightly faster that the DOA lane of single drivers in their shiny metal boxes. The driver, let’s just call her; Driver 8, asked about my latest foray into working with a company that has arguably world class technology and is stuck the revolving door of needing a step by step plan in order to go to market. Without the plan, there is fear something else may happen. “Well, how are you going to help them?” Driver 8 inquired with all the familiarity of a 15 year partnership (grumble). After several minutes of me making the mistake of thinking out loud and using an impressive string of forward looking phrases, motivational quotes, and promising that my impressive “ism” vocabulary insures this client “field level traction” for sales, Driver 8 turns to me and dead pans; “Ibid.” So...

This is culled from a follow-up email to a company I gave a comprehensive (well the post contradicts that a bit) sales training class on complex solution selling. Omissions by design, and yes, I revised my preso. One of the most interesting blogs I read regularly is Marc Andreessen’s titled; blog.pmarca.com. In it he explores a wide range of topics for business and entrepreneurialism. One topic of late caught my eye as it appears to relate to how positioning and selling a software product is similar to being open to different kinds of luck. Hear me out on this. Fast forwarding through the research aspect of the four kinds of luck (a good read by the way) I will start at the end and go from there. The role luck plays in any successful endeavor is an interesting and oft minimized catalyst to success, and as start ups are measured this is building a successful business or building to a successful exit. Luck in Marc's blog post comes in 4 types: · Chance I is completely impersonal; you...

Recently I participated in a 3 day executive strategery session to determine a positioning and overall corporate message. One of the habits I developed over the years is to take very thorough and copious notes. So I took, no lie, 52 pages of notes over 3 days. Upon return to my home base I reviewed the notes and found some interesting tidbits I wanted to pass along. Initially what struck me as interesting is my preparation included a note to myself that this company sells one product. When I was in transit to the east coast for the meeting I also noticed I noted that my estimated time for completion of the meeting objectives would take one maybe two days max to drive to a coherent, well differentiated positioning statement. In the end, I was wrong here are some highlights; First is one of the “isms” I constructed while observing a debate on data types (yes this is my life) between a technical savant and a finance guy. Seriously this actually happened. The thread started as a high leve...

Best T-Shirt I have seen on a female same sex couple: "Balls are for Soccer."

Over a rather pricey and tasty dinner last weekend the topic of long term spousal travel (couples together more than 15 years) and “travel divorce moments” came up as a topic. Now for those not in the know go here and read this over 1,000 times. For those of us in the long term category read on. In this particular case I was asked MO on two events that provided divorce moment rage on a trip to the Scottish Scotch country. In effect who had “hand” in the overall handling of the situation? And no, none of these were the result of too many wee drams of the good stuff. First was what I call an operational incident. The scenario is as the couple is traveling the dirt and mud rows of Scotland seeking the next Scotch-ery (trademarked). Whilst driving on a particularly challenging dirt road the rental car (Ford something or other and that is really not the point anyway) hit a mud puddle. The man is driving the woman is jabbering… um, riding in the passenger seat. First let’s just say the od...