I was asked by a colleague after a tough negotiating session with a group of Russian executives….. “Gabriel, do you find the Russians difficult to negotiate with?” I suppose he had in mind images of the Berlin Wall and the Cuban Missile Crisis or, for those of us old enough to remember, Khrushchev pounding on the desk with his shoe at the United Nations!
No I would tell them, “Believe me, negotiating with the Russians isn’t as tough as some of the internal company negotiations I’ve been through. At least the Russians make their position clear. Sometimes it’s those friendly faces on your own team who are the real Cold Warriors.”
Some of the toughest negotiations that you will face will not be with those from outside your organization, but from those on your own team. Why are these negotiations tough? Read more…
