In last month’s article, I discussed how you can assert a Positive No, which is the ability to express your values while declining some part of an agreement or request. As a follow on to reflections from the William Ury book, “The Power of a Positive No,” here are some thoughts on concluding your negotiation to achieve a mutually satisfactory agreement. Read More

Strategic or tactical alliances or partnerships are formed all the time. We may not formally define or design them as such but the benefits remain attractive. The key is to consciously understand how you can best determine how the relationship will be formed and attain maximum benefits to all parties. In other words, how can the relationship be built to assure profits for the long term or any of the desired results among the partners for the short term?
In her book; “Intelligent Business Alliances,” Larraine Segil describes an approach she invented called the Mindshift Method. When forming a partnership or alliance, diagnostic needs to be performed as to the stage of the business and the complimentary personalities associated with each stage. Trying to form a successful relationship without regard to these facets will be difficult at best and probably lead to a breakdown for reasons that could have been averted. The risk of not analyzing the factors can be loss of money, opportunity and continual stressful relationships in the workplace. If you have experienced any of these negative outcomes possibly there were some key points that may have been overlooked prior to forming the business entity. Read More