Costco Connection - August 2007

FRESHviews

RHONDA ABRAMS: STRATEGIES

Rhonda Abrams’

newest book is

Successful Business

Research. For more

tips, see www.Plan

ningShop.com.

Making nice

NICE GUYS FINISH last.

Baseball manager Leo

The fine art of

negotiation

or need. But the other person had better feel like

they’re being treated fairly, too. That’s the relation-

ship view of negotiations. Negotiations are far more likely to succeed

when both sides share the same attitude. For instance, if both parties in a negotiation

are transaction-oriented¸ the negotiations may get

heated, but everyone’s likely to understand that’s

just part of the process and not take it personally.

And if both of you are relationship-oriented,

you’re almost certain to be able to reach an ami-

cable and fair agreement. You may have to give up

something more today, but the other party will be

willing to give up something more tomorrow. You’re

both able to take the long view, recognizing that the

relationship itself has value. The worst negotiations are when the two

parties have differing viewpoints. If one of you is

concentrating solely on the transaction (“what’s

in it for me?”), while the other is also concerned

about the relationship (“what’s best for both

of us in the long run?”), it’s a recipe for anger,

frustration and probably a long and unpleasant

negotiation. (Think divorce!) The best businesspeople recognize the value of

approaching their negotiations from a relationship

point of view. After all, it’s very costly to have to find

new customers. The best personal relationships are

built on that approach, too. After all, it’s even more

costly to find a new spouse! C

Durocher coined the term,

explaining how athletes

become champions.

Unfortunately, the phrase

has permeated business

IN ALL ASPECTS of life, we’re negotiating. We nego-

tiate when we’re in business—whether it’s with

suppliers, customers or employees. We negotiate

with our family members—over big things and

small. We negotiate when we buy or sell. Most of us think of negotiations as “zero sum”

games—what one side gives up, the other side gets,

and vice versa. Maybe that’s true if you’re never

going to do business with, live with or be friends

with the person on the other side again. This is the

transaction view of negotiations. For most of us, however, negotiations are just

one aspect of ongoing alliances. You’re still going to

be buying from your supplier, you still want to use

your mechanic, you still want to have a pleasant

dinner with your spouse. In these negotiations, we

recognize that, sure, we want to get what we want

and other parts of our

lives, impacting relation-

ships. In The Power of Nice

(Currency/Doubleday, 2006),

Costco members Linda

Kaplan Thaler and Robin

Koval, who head the New

York advertising agency

The Kaplan Thaler Group,

debunk the myth.

With a foreword by Jay

Leno, often referred to as

“one of the nicest guys in

show business,” and laced

with evidentiary anecdotes

and advice, the book makes

a strong case for niceness

while also noting that it

doesn’t mean “being wimpy.”

The book highlights six

“Power of Nice” principles.

All work and no play ...

Positive impressions are

like seeds. The power of nice

has a domino effect. That

SOME PEOPLE would have you believe that work is not supposed to be fun. After all, that’s why they call it work. Dr. Brooks Mitchell is not one of those people.

Mitchell, a professor of management at the University of Wyoming and a Costco member, founded a company called Snowfly ( www.snowfly.com), which helps companies of 20 or more employees set up incentive programs to inspire worker productivity. The Laramie, Wyoming, company produces online games for these programs.

“Incentive programs are here to stay,” suggests Mitchell. “Most people give employers what they will in terms of job performance. A fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay. Incentive plans, properly constructed, will go beyond what people will give you and rise to the level of

what people can give you.” Mitchell believes those incentives should be fun. He offers these steps for game-based incentive plans. 1. Identify performance objectives and give certain values to game tokens.

2. Award tokens via the Internet to people who achieve their objectives and allow them to visit a virtual game room, where they can play their tokens and win points.

3. Allow those points to be redeemed online or as debit cards, gift cards, etc.

4. Monitor and evaluate results. So, employees get instant

COURTESY OF SNOWFLY.COM

effect may not be immediately

apparent but will eventually

find its way back.

You never know. A

stranger on the street may

seem insignificant, but could

be related to your boss or

a client.

People change. Treat

everyone with respect.

Today’s clerk could be

tomorrow’s CEO.

Nice must be automatic.

It loses its effectiveness if

used only sporadically.

rewards and gratification from game-based incentive programs, but what do employers get? According to Dr. Mitchell, “employers get an increase in desired staff behaviors such as higher retention rates, enhanced morale, improved attendance, increased sales and a fully engaged workforce.” C