About the Author: William Fisher, a partner at Treetop Ventures in Omaha, is a regular guest contributor to Silicon Prairie News. In his series, View from the FishBowl, Fisher calls on his experience as a business executive and technology investor to lend his advice to entrepreneurs in the Silicon Prairie.
Fisher has served as a director for several prominent public companies and private firms, and he currently serves on the boards of Prism Technologies, Lodo Software and FTNI. To read his full bio, including a listing of companies he has been involved with, visit treetopventures.com.
Contact Fisher at fish@treetopventures.com.
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There is probably a more official name for this but I never could quite figure out what it should be called. However, for decision makers and negotiators, I think it is something that should always be in the back of your mind as you think through negotiations.
Most of the successful people I met in the business world have big egos and typically possess incredible power as it relates to body flexibility (incredible ability to pat themselves on the back). Maybe it is because success is such a great deodorant and when you are successful, you feel you can pretty much do no wrong. I have seen this manifest itself in situations where the ego gets in the way and they want to show the other party they are “right.” They want to win the argument as opposed to completing the negotiation in a winning way. They want to show their team that they won; in my opinion, they want to be famous as opposed to being rich. They are more concerned that they be “right” as opposed to getting the deal done.
My advice is that you attempt to totally remove personality/ego from any negotiation you are involved in. Remove from your thought process that you are successful; you have always won these sorts of arguments; you are smarter than the other person; right is on your side; it is what you said you would do. I think that trying to get a negotiation completed while maintaining this “air of invincibility” will get in your way.
Check your ego at the door; don’t be afraid to do the right thing for the deal even if it is something that many outsiders might think is not the right thing. Nothing is better than letting the other guy think he “won” while getting the deal done to your advantage.
And finally (this is key for those who have problems keeping their ego in check), make sure that you respect the “art of the deal” and honor your adversary. I have a good friend who worked for me some years ago who learned that lesson in a special way. After negotiating a successful acquisition of a small company (his first), the team gathered for a celebration of the new partnership. Clearly feeling his oats, he undertook a side conversation with the person he negotiated with. With a smirk, he leaned close and remarked… “Just so you know, we would have paid more!” Without missing a beat, and with a wide smile, he answered, “We would have taken less!” I don’t see my friend that often but when we do, he never forgets to mention his brief attempt at being famous. As Grandma Fisher would say, I think that incident broke him of “sucking them eggs!”
