The Art of Negotiation: How to Get What You Want Without Losing Your Cool
(6 min read | unless you're distracted)
Texas is coming back, y'all, and I haven't been this excited the begin a new month since... last month. I've lived in Houston for my entire life and haven't ever witnessed any weather storm that rocked us as hard as the winter storm did.
It rocked us so hard that even Ted Cruz thought a family trip to a sunny Cancun, MX would be a great idea. Also, I'm not sure why Gregg Abbott thinks that lifting a mask ban is a good idea while cases of COVID-19 are still pretty high, but ok. Our medical professionals have all recommended to wear them, so I'll continue to trust their judgment. All that clout chasing is gonna harm the state, Gregg. Please stop. Ok, I'm done being petty for the day...
Happy March to you all and Happy Women's History Month!
Onto the topic of the month … Negotiation!
Before I get into this topic, many of the references to money mindset, corporate-speak, and examples may offend you if you are not working in a corporate environment. Please do not take any of this personally. I'll ask that if anything I say strikes a nerve with you, that we have a conversation about it. I'd love to know what's going on and how I may be able to understand things from your perspective.
Why Care About Negotiating?
Have you ever received a promotion, but not a raise to go along with it? Have you ever felt like someone was completely undervaluing your skills? Have you ever walked away from a deal where you knew you could have negotiated a better price, but let your fear get in the way? Well, I hate to break it to you, but you probably could have done a few things to be a bit more persuasive and get (closer to) what you want. Either they were a nutjob, or it could have been you. It stings, but it's happened to me. I've been boo-boo the fool and I'm sharing this / praying that you don't make the mistakes that I did.
As we celebrate Women's History Month, I can't think of a better topic to discuss. I've heard from many that this is a common thing in 2021. The ongoing pandemic has created financial unrest across the world and within the US, people have taken pay cuts, received no bonuses, and have even lost their jobs altogether. If you've been fortunate enough to keep your job, it's important to know how to negotiate. Even in these COVID times, you cannot be undervalued if you're deemed valuable enough to remain on a team and even take on additional responsibilities.
It's important to note that not EVERYTHING should be a negotiation, but in most cases - it'