Preparing The Emotional Argument

What is the demand for what you do? What would be the opportunity costs of your not being part of the organization? Identify those particulars and quantify the revenue and/or savings of those advantages. Measure these costs in terms of the time and resources that would be needed to replace you, the loss of your deep familiarity and comfort with organizational processes, the loss of the sheer speed of your output, the loss of your education and skills, your possible recruitment by a competitor organization. What is the supply both within and outside the organization to fill that demand? Maybe the speed at completing a task, or your unique creativity, your connections outside the organization, your singular talent for communicating? What might be the cost in time, productivity, and operational effectiveness of having to meet the organization’s demand for a replacement? Given your record thus far, what is your value inside the organization and, equally, outside it? Quantify the answers to all these questions. Think of the memo that contains the answers as the equivalent of the cereal box that sells itself to customers. Like the carefully designed, carefully placed cereal box, this memo establishes to a T what your value is and what you should be paid for it. This time you’re Cap’n Crunch, and the decision maker is the consumer strolling among the boxes of cereal. So now, put a price tag on what the memo shows you are worth. Then, my advice is to add 15 percent and make that your negotiating goal. You will want to establish that bar early in the negotiating process, as we will see, so be very sure of the number you set. That number should be derived from all of the previous investigating you have done. Also, get as much vacation time as you can. Paid time off accrues and therefore likely will be paid out in the event you leave.

Life In Technicolor

At this point, you’re ready to prepare your negotiating argument. If you’re nervous, that’s normal. Sometimes, even showing your nervousness can create the human element that drives emotions. You’ve already figured out what creates fear and excitement in your decision maker, and you now know the precise value and leverage you bring to the organization. The aim now is to position the latter to drive the former. It’s time to present yourself as an individual who can put to rest the decision maker’s fears while simultaneously meeting the expectations of his or her enthusiasm. That’s why you’re worth what you’re asking, and it’s why the decision maker will win when you do. Suppose your decision maker is due to retire in three years. How can you position your value and leverage in a way that shows her you are prepared to help her do just that? You see what is most important to her, you share her intense desire to make it happen, and you have the will. You also have experience in the organization, a unique creativity, and above all the proven project management skills to get it done right, in return for the raise you seek. You know that, in addition, he has just bought a new dual console boat for fishing, and between that and the mortgage on his fairly new house, money is precious. These skills will help him keep his job and his paycheck.

Life Is A Battlefield

Your leverage is that you understand his fear and are ready to go to work to put it to rest. In exchange for your ask, you both come out on top. That is why negotiating is really all about emotion. It’s time to bring some emotion into your negotiation planning. Start with the room where it happens. He or she will choose the setting. Chances are you have been there before, so you know the entrances and exits, what the furniture is like, how the place feels. Practice using it, and of course remember to bring it with you. It is the facts you’ve uncovered in your research that are the real strength of your argument. Then rehearse the session in your mind. Shawn knows precisely how to control her body and keep it working for her. Instead, repeatedly visualizing herself executing the routine as if she were in her home gym is what brought her the gold.

When The Lights Go Out

In essence, she was keeping the blinders on until the competition was over. Trying to picture an endpoint takes your focus off your performance, especially if that endpoint is perfection. If you can put yourself in a Shawn Johnson–like zone through prior visualization that pushes out the negative, then the things you visualize have a good chance of coming true. It’s all about planning and getting your head focused well ahead of time. Besides finding her absolutely wonderful looking, she has always struck me as incredibly likeable. She’s a genuine person who connects with people directly and in a way that puts them at ease. In fact, I was seated quite close to the podium but, due to the shape of the room, was actually behind it. So, in a sense, I saw mostly the backs of the speakers. My seating, however, gave me a little insight into how Aniston achieves that effortless naturalness. Three massive monitors contained not just every word she uttered but every pause, every directional signal to turn her head left, right, or center, every breath to take. That did not make it less genuine. It just showed how absolutely imperative planning is. This is someone who acts and memorizes lines better than almost anyone. She still put all her lines and every detail of her appearance on a teleprompter! Plan and be prepared. If you can, begin by setting a tone that diminishes any discomfort either of you may feel. A good way to get yourself into that tone is to think about someone you admire. Chances are the person is not a jerk, not a bully, not someone who leaves a bad impression or comes off as threatening.