It seems the cold war has been revived. Or, perhaps it’s not exactly the cold war as real fighting is going on and territory is being annexed. The world is watching as the verbal battle between Putin and Obama plays out around the actual ground game taking place.
Just now they announced that a Russian fighter jet made numerous close passes to a US warship. Seems the risk of a conflagration is rising.
As we all watch the ineffective response of those trying to encourage Russia to stop its territorial acquisition, I’m reminded of the what a client who was a master negotiator once shared. Pex Muldoon, among other things CEO of Lavino Shipping Company, often was in negotiations with unions: longshoreman and teamsters. Yet as tough as these unions are in negotiations, Pex would wind up with deal he could live with…and so could the unions.
Without strikes and great animosity.
I once asked him how he managed to keep things running smoothly during contract negotiations. He shared how he always tried to be fair…and the unions knew this. More importantly, the unions knew that when his negotiators came back to the table after conferring with him and said, “Pex said this is the last offer”, the unions knew he meant it.
He then shared the real secret. He was willing to take a strike for as long as it took…and the unions knew this too. He had a red line. When you reached that line, he followed through with his threat. Actually, threat is too strong a word. He merely shared the response that you would get if you crossed the line. The ball was now in your court. You controlled what would happen…good or bad.
He always followed through. And everyone knew it.