Bunch of Wimps

Who are the bunch of wimps I refer to? Essentially most of Canada’s political class! I have spent most of my adult life negotiating with real estate developers. So, I have a number of pointers:

• Be ready / Anticipate- the leader of the opposition was 100% right when he said that Canada should have anticipated that the incoming US administration would be aggressive. The emergency meeting of first ministers should have been held quietly 10 days following the US Election -it didn’t. So Canada started from a position of weakness. Well…
• Never, never start from a position of weakness – agreeing  that Canada is not doing enough on immigration and border control is a foolish opening gambit
• Negotiating team disagreements must be private – never public
• Don’t negotiate with yourself – listen to and understand the negotiating opponent’s position explained clearly before making any counter-offers or concessions.
• Recognize that your opponent has objectives, some more important or legitimate than others. You need to understand those to be able to arrive at a mutually beneficial agreement. Indeed, you may find a number of shared objectives – the basis of any good accord.
• Understand what could cause damage to and disruption for the opponent:
  • An export tax of 25% to be paid by US purchasers on all energy exports. 
  • Border control – OK – we better start spending extra time going through the trucks delivering just-in-time parts to the US Auto industry. These may be good places to hide 32 pounds of fentanyl! Lay-offs in Michigan?
  • What is being done to control the northward flow of illegal fire arms!? And what is the volume of the northward flow of illicit drugs? Long inspection times for US goods to Canada.
  • Really high duties on Canadian imports of US luxury goods such as bourbon and wine. Maybe ban the importation outright! Don’t underestimate the regional importance of the Canadian import market for some of these products.  Of course, this is easy for me to say! I prefer old world wines; good Barbadian rum to bourbon; and, I am, of course biased, but Scotch is still the best whiskey in the world.

Prepare to Walk Away

• Never feel pressured to make a decision on the spot – it is a sign of strength and confidence to recess and consider.
• In almost every negotiation there is a f***-off moment. Never be afraid to walk away from the table. Prepare for the consequences.  
• Appeasement is never, never an option – any respect your opponent may have for you becomes disdain. And this just leads to more demands!

Sweat the Small Stuff

Many might think this is just too trivial, but trust me, it isn’t.

• Understand the makeup of the opposing team.
• Feed your opponents illusions / delusions-of-self – this opens up their soft under-bellies.
• Raise your chair at the board room table – at 5″7″, this was really important for me
• The middle seats on either side of the table are the power positions – the head of the table is too far from the action
• Use your physical and intellectual assets to dominate – knowledge, preparedness, height, size, voice and vocabulary. Never show weakness.
• Looking for a concession – lock the door. Five words at 3pm look different at 2am.

No time for a bunch of wimps

I know that negotiations can be tough and scary. Particularly true when the opponent is much more powerful, unpredictable and sometimes seemingly irrational. When the opponent’s mantra is often:

“I know what was signed but I’ve promised you that I am not going to abide by our written agreements. And my word is stronger than my signature.”

Appeasement and acquiescence are not viable options when dealing with this kind of an opponent. Courage and calm are needed! We don’t want Neville Chamberlain and Albert Lebrun negotiating – we want Winston Churchill. We certainly don’t need a bunch of wimps.

Neville Chamberlain, Prime Minister of England and Albert Lebrun, President of France

Appeasers-in-Chief in the lead-up to World War II