Proactive vs. Defensive Visibility vs. Excuses
My friend is an accomplished professional. She constantly deals with big clients. Recently, she worked on a complex business negotiation with her company's largest client. The client was very skillful in applying various negotiation skills including changing positions, escalating and blaming her for delays, renegotiating terms back and forth.
She struggled through the long and unpleasant negotiation process. Finally, every party was satisfied and the deal was made. But she felt bruised inside and out.
When we went to lunch to celebrate the success, she questioned if could she do better given the same case again in the future. "What's the most troublesome issue you faced?" I asked my puzzled friend. She lamented, "Communications with the client, internal business partners and my boss. Everything became convoluted, the client's negotiation techniques mixed with their hidden agenda. I was accused of being the defensive and making many excuses. Some information was true for a brief moment, then became false because of ever changing terms and conditions."
I was amazed, my friend isn't the type to be defensive and full of excuses, she is humble and responsible.
"There are two pairs of concepts, paradoxes: Proactive vs. Defensive and Visibility vs. Excuses. Both can be used to describe the same action and same information, due to different timing", I said. "What do you mean?" She asked. "Let's assume that you have some key information that is critical to either your boss or your business partner in dealing with your client during the negotiation. If you presented it to your relevant partners before the negotiation, your information become instrumental in winning the negotiation, you will be viewed as proactive and giving the right amount of visibility. If you did not pres ent the critical information beforehand, but after the fact, you could be blamed for acting defensively and full of excuses. It is all about timing in this ever changing world, a piece of critical information presented at the right time can win your company an important deal."
She struggled through the long and unpleasant negotiation process. Finally, every party was satisfied and the deal was made. But she felt bruised inside and out.
When we went to lunch to celebrate the success, she questioned if could she do better given the same case again in the future. "What's the most troublesome issue you faced?" I asked my puzzled friend. She lamented, "Communications with the client, internal business partners and my boss. Everything became convoluted, the client's negotiation techniques mixed with their hidden agenda. I was accused of being the defensive and making many excuses. Some information was true for a brief moment, then became false because of ever changing terms and conditions."
I was amazed, my friend isn't the type to be defensive and full of excuses, she is humble and responsible.
"There are two pairs of concepts, paradoxes: Proactive vs. Defensive and Visibility vs. Excuses. Both can be used to describe the same action and same information, due to different timing", I said. "What do you mean?" She asked. "Let's assume that you have some key information that is critical to either your boss or your business partner in dealing with your client during the negotiation. If you presented it to your relevant partners before the negotiation, your information become instrumental in winning the negotiation, you will be viewed as proactive and giving the right amount of visibility. If you did not pres ent the critical information beforehand, but after the fact, you could be blamed for acting defensively and full of excuses. It is all about timing in this ever changing world, a piece of critical information presented at the right time can win your company an important deal."
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