I've had a few very good conversations lately with some people I really respect. Some conversations had to do with real estate, one had to do with an athletic endeavor, one has to do with a current negotiation and one had to do with business in general. When I have a meeting that isn't specific to generating income - in other words not with a potential/current/previous client - I look back on that meeting and try to deny/confirm whether it was an investment in time or a waste of time.
My last few meetings have definitely been an investment in time and I'm very happy with that. And no, I'm not wearing rose-colored glasses: believe me, I know when I've wasted my time. Considering that I used to be one of the best at it, I know it when I see it. Anyway, I've been negotiating a deal and there's literally nothing our side can do. In fact, if we do anything whatsoever it will be viewed upon as being a sign of weakness and our position of power (or lack thereof) will be buried further.
So as the title states, we need to do something that is very difficult indeed. So at this time, and for the last week, we've done nothing. Sure, I followed up with the other side to see if the client has done nothing but they haven't. So we wait. And that's what we'll continue to do until we here from the other side. Is it easy? Heck no. In fact, my client has spent his entire career making things happen. So to do nothing is literally driving him up a wall. However, he fully understands why we're doing what we're doing so we continue to do it.
Think about all of the negotiations that you've ever been involved in: as you look back, would it have made sense at one time or another to take the approach of doing nothing? My guess is that if you're in a position where you do many negotiations, you will have looked back and saw that one time in particular where doing nothing would have been not just the best reaction, but many times the best action.
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