Don’t do it for the sake of it

Don’t do it for the sake of it

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By MUSYOKA NGUI

I recently took part in a business negotiation that gave me some pointers to what a good negotiator in any deal should be.

First, don’t let your opponent know your cards. Let the enemy keep guessing your next move. As he does so, strategize and unleash your weapon hard on your enemy.

Two, stay put. Don’t move an inch. One way in which a battle is won is by shifting boundaries and taking the enemy’s territory. Stay put and advance. Colonize and make no lacuna of who the winner is and who the recipient of loser’s card is.

If I keep my side of the deal and you don’t that makes me appear weak-even if I am not. As a consequence, should that happen, sanctions will follow quickly. Economic sanctions can be very persuasive. If your enemy does not see the sense in reason, let the enemy know the card left is the card that you will deal him. And that card does not involve showing mercy.

A principle of fairness must apply to all that profess the same fellowship. If we are in a union and you claim to be a member and you don’t meet your obligations that we agreed, then you don’t deserve to be in that cabal. You belong to where they backtrack on their word with no consequence. If we say we pay we pay. We didn’t say excuses. No one wants sick stories explaining away your lazy spins. Reserve that to people of your ilk.

And if the thing does not work talk divorce. There is no need of staying in an abusive relationship for the sake of it. If they don’t serve your interest, go where they care. Stop crying and making all of us wonder if you have anything else to do. We have had enough of sorry stories during your less than impressive stint. We also want you out like yesterday. Move.

So next time you negotiate with anyone, never do so from a position of weakness. Rather, do so from a position of strength. It is better to not do a deal at all than to sign a one-sided deal. Pretenders will tell you that they are doing it for others or they are doing it for future generations but the reality is that they saw what it was for themselves before others. Were it not for them they would have not been there in the first place.