FIVE WAYS TO WIN IN ANY BUSINESS SITUATION

By Steve Tobak

BNet.Com

See original article at :
http://www.bnet.com/blog/ceo/5-ways-to-win-in-any-business-situation/5681

Steve Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, said
"Think Win-Win." Jim Camp, author of Start With No, calls win-win "…
the seductive mantra used by the toughest negotiators to get the other
side to compromise unnecessarily …" He says those negotiations end up
as win-lose.

Want to know who's right? Well, determining the best approach to any
business relationship or negotiation is very much situational, but
still, relatively straightforward. Whether it's a job opportunity, a
consulting opportunity, a potential vendor or customer, an internal
relationship, whatever, it's more common sense than you think.

That said, it does confuse and confound a lot of people, even senior
executives and business leaders. For example, a post by Niland
Mortimer on BNET starts out like this:

The rules of business decision making more often than not are
based on the principle of "I win. You lose." Companies, and their
employees, proceed invincibly down the path of unilateral rightness.
Compromise is out of the question. Collaboration is tantamount to
defeat. I win. You lose. Damn the consequences.

Now, I'm not going to say "I win - you lose" never happens. Sure it
does. In fact, it makes complete sense … in certain situations. For
example, it's the only way to approach competitors because
market-share is more or less a zero-sum game. But otherwise, that's
neither the way to win nor the way it works in the real world.
Frankly, I don't know where Mortimer's assertion comes from, but it's
not consistent with my experience.

So, to clear up all the confusion and distinguish between the
different approaches, here are 5 Ways to Win in Any Business
Situation:

1. Internal relationship between coworkers. Win-win, collaborate,
all the way. Anything else is dysfunctional. Sure, the dysfunctional
stuff - back stabbing, taking credit for someone else's work,
sugar-coating BS, CYA - all exists, but don't fall into that trap. You
either have to play it smarter or find a company that doesn't accept
that kind of crap.
Goal: Win-win
2. Boss-employee relationship. Again, Win-win, collaborate, all the
way, same as with coworkers. Companies don't exist for you, your boss,
or your employees. They exist for two reasons: to provide a product or
service to customers, and to provide value to shareholders. All
employees at every level should be aligned to do that, simple as that.
Goal: Win-win
3. Competitors in the marketplace. I win - you lose. Period. Market
competition is a zero-sum game, simple as that. To suggest otherwise
is idiotic. And yes, you should befriend your competitors, call them
frienemies, hang out and party with them, anything you like. Just
listen more than you talk. Keep your friends close and your enemies
closer, right?
Goal: I win - you lose
4. Customer-vendor relationship. Customer-vendor relationships
should always yield the perception of a win-win, especially if you
want an ongoing relationship. That said, when you approach
negotiations, your goal is to get the better deal while the other guy
thinks he did okay too. I think of that as "I win - you don't lose."
Camp provides a pretty good approach for doing that. It's not easy at
first, but you do get better at it with experience.
Goal: I win - you don't lose
5. Job or consulting opportunity. It's important to note that, in
this situation, you all have to live with each other after the fact.
So, whichever side of the equation you're on, don't overpromise and
risk underdelivering or underplay your hand and risk losing the gig.
Best to be genuine. That said, when it comes to negotiating dollars
and cents, it's the same as customer-vendor.
Goal: I win - you don't lose

Hope that helps to clear things up. Now go negotiate something

--
Álvar Ojeda
---------

Movil: +52 1 (984) 806 4383
Playa del Carmen, Q.Roo. MEXICO

E Mail: ojeda.alvar@gmail.com
Skype: alvar.ojeda

BB PIN 22609E53