EXCELLENCE: The Greatest Negotiating Weapon In Life
Excellence is the
quality that makes an individual superior to others. It is the fact or state of
excelling at something. It means to surpass others, do extremely well or outdo your
competition. Everywhere in the world, excellence is celebrated and sought
after. People desire singers whose songs will touch their deepest emotions,
doctors who will cure their incurable diseases or orators who will inspire powerful
positive changes in their lives. The world is in constant demand of people who
‘know’, people who excellently do their jobs. In return, the man with great
expertise will ask of life anything he wants and he will get it. He determines
his terms of engagement and negotiates for incomes beyond our wildest dreams. Succinctly
put, the expert is King! No matter where the waves of life carry him, he will thrive
and end up like the Kings!
Now, what has
excellence got to do with the negotiation of value?
Negotiation is
simply the arrangement of the terms of a transaction or agreement. There is
negotiation for value in all human interactions. Parents ask children for good
grades. Kids negotiate back for games. Spouses negotiate for Love and sex in
return for friendship or financial security. Businesses ask for customers’
loyalty and higher prices while customers negotiate for more value for lower
prices. Employers want more skills and dedication for less payment.. Employees
want better working conditions and increase salary! Everywhere men exist,
negotiation takes place. The point of this write up is, the terms of any relationship
will favor you if you develop an excellent skill beneficial to that
relationship! When you offer rare services or superior skills, the
other party: spouse, employer, fans or customers
will give anything to keep you with them!
In the book “Reinvention,” (How to Make the
Rest of Your Life the Best of Your Life), Brian Tracy told a story of how he
once had a secretary named Diane. Diane was fired from her bank job in 1986 and
Brian hired her then for only $800. After 2 months, because she was doing so
well at the job, he increased her salary to $1000 per month. After two more months he increased her salary
to $1200 per month again. This amounted to a 50% increase in a very short time.
After working for like six months, Diane asked to see her boss in a meeting to
talk about her compensation. At the meeting she told Brian Tracy that she had
been thinking about her salary and that she had decided she would like an
increase!
Well, Brian said
he had expected this and so told her he would give her another $200 per month to
make her salary $1400 per month. Diane thanked him gratefully then told him No
can do! She said she had done a great deal of research in the market place and
she had concluded that a person of her skills and abilities was worth $1,800
per month. That was the amount Diane wanted and…… that was the amount Diane
got! Exactly what happened? Listen to what Brian Tracy said after Diane made her
demands. “I was surprised. I sat there looking at her and she stared right back
at me without blinking. Then I thought about how quickly she had learned every
detail of my business. She had taken additional computer classes in the
evening, on her own time, so that she could handle the bookkeeping and word
processing….she introduced herself to the customers and got to know them well, she
handled customer service problems, she had worked on herself to become valuable
in every area…..I realized she was worth the extra money. To replace her, I
would have to pay as much; if not more to someone new….I agreed to her request
and gave her increase to $1,800 per month. She thanked me with a big smile ….I
just sat there shaking my head!”
Excellence is
truly the strongest negotiating weapon in life! It is our avenue to a dreamlike
tomorrow. The negotiating table of life will always tilt in favour of the man
with great skills. Focus entirely on honing your skills and making exceptional
contributions wherever you are. Give
your best to the job at hand; become more valuable, more irreplaceable. Give your employer, your spouse, your
examiner, your client; whoever you are interacting with much more than the
competitor can offer them. Surpass others in your industry, do extremely well
beyond your spouse’s imagination, and outdo the competition in your class! When you become exceptional at your job, you will not serve before small men; you will
stand with, and dine with, The kings!”
Comments
Post a Comment