Daily Archives: August 21, 2011

Novice Negotiators – Your Counterparts Will Use Your Emotions Against You

As per this recent article over on eSide Supply Management on “Using ‘Micro Expressions’ to Your Negotiation Advantage”, negotiators who can read body language often have an advantage. And if you are emotional, they are sure to pick up on your unfiltered emotional actions and use those against you.

In particular, as per the article, they will be looking for signs of these universal emotions to use to their advantage:

  • Anger
  • Disgust
  • Fear
  • Sadness
  • Happiness
  • Surprise
  • Contempt

In particular, they will be looking for signs of Fear, since that means they can strong-arm you, Surprise, since that means they can pull a fast one while your mind is otherwise occupied, and Happiness, since that means that they don’t have to sweeten the deal any further to get you to sign.

That’s why, no matter what happens, you should always be cool, calm, and collected against an experienced pro. Don’t take it personally. It’s business, and, more importantly, it’s the organization’s business. No matter what happens, look at it from a neutral, outsider’s perspective. Pretend you’re a third party arbitrator and it’s your job to find a fair resolution to an argument. You might still be out-negotiated, but your counterpart will have less of an advantage.

That’s the reason that good negotiators have a Poker Face.

Look for the InSourcing Bandwagon to Start Boarding in 2012

As per this recent article over in World Trade on “The Next Generation of Outsourcing”, Michael Corbett, Chairman of the IAOP (International Association of Outsourcing Professionals) has been quoted as stating that outsourcing has reached its “threshold moment” with its ability to drive global socioeconomic and technology progress.

And we all know what happens when a business craze has been pronounced as reaching its “threshold moment” or “inflection point”. The big 5/7/8 consultancies look for the next craze that they can build excitement around to keep the consulting dollars pouring in. And since they believe that business trends, like the economy and “retro” social trends are cyclical, I can guarantee that it won’t be long before “insourcing” is announced as the next big thing.

Just like “downsizing” turned into “rightsizing” when the consultants realized that ( a) “downsizing” is a very easy thing for the media to spin negatively (because it is negative) and ( b) taking out too many people cripples the company to the point that it can’t do anything, the consultants will suddenly discover that “outsourcing”, which is ( a) also capable of being spun negatively by the media, is very similar to “downsizing” and then rediscover that ( b) taking out too many people internally is bad and some should be “brought back” to prevent the company from being crippled. As a result, prepare for the influx of “insourcing” bandwagons in 2012, which are being built as I write this (and launched as the economic debate for the 2012 Presidential Election focusses on the economy and the lack of Jobs at Home).

But just like you shouldn’t have hitched a ride on the outsourcing bandwagon, you shouldn’t hitch a ride on the insourcing bandwagon either (even if you did hitch a ride on the outsourcing bandwagon). For many companies, that have spent the time, effort, and resources to not only develop a close working relationship with the outsource provider, but to integrate their best practices and knowledge into their operations, continued outsourcing is the right way to go. Disruption, which occurs when something is pushed out or pulled in, is extremely costly. If the relationship is working well, and the provider is providing the services in a lower cost locale, pulling it back in doesn’t make sense. As with any major strategic decision, a thorough analysis has to be done to make the right decision. And that never happens if you just jump on a bandwagon.