Today is Valentine's day, and if you want to develop a relationship with a member of the opposite sex, would you spend your first date talking about yourself and telling him or her how great you are?

Probably not.

However, many businesses, who want to attract new customers do precisely that in their upfront marketing materials. For example websites often contain paragraph after paragraph about about how well qualified your people are, how long you have been in business and what you do. It's unusual indeed to find a website (or brochure) that specifically focuses on the needs of the potential client.

The following article, co-authored with Philippe Back, of High Octane Consulting, Belgium shows how potential customers want to know how you can solve their problems, not  how clever you are. In particular, we look at two types of businesses that we have some experience with: law and information technology (IT).

Law Firms:

Successful law firms are very client centered. As well as being technically excellent, they are very good at anticipating and meeting their client's needs.  They might be said to possess high emotional intelligence in addition to high cognitive or technical intelligence. Thia combination in our view, is the key to success in professional firms.  To continue reading please click here.  

 

Now Mubarak has gone, the future of Egypt will be determined by the ability of the different interest groups to turn  to another method to maximise the chance for democratic transition. The Egyptian leaders must convene roundtable talks where all major opposition groups are represented. In other words, the way forward is to choose negotiation.

Negotiation is also a central part of business life. However, given the pace of business life, the complex structure of organisations. CEOs and senior executives are often under extreme time pressure, managing complex conversations across functions and divisions. Negotiating can be tough.

The way people negotiate tends to be deeply ingrained and is often reactive rather than proactive and thoughtful, especially in situations where the stakes are perceived as being high.

Here are five practical techniques you can use when negotiating that will dramatically improve your chances of reaching a mutually satisfying result.

First. Never lose sight of the bigger picture and your objective:

Try not to:

• Assume that you of all the facts, and that the issues are obvious.    
• Assume that the other side are biased and you are not. 
• Asume that the other sides motivations and intentions are obvious, and are hostile to yours.

Do your best to:

• Ask the other person to help you understand how they see the situation. To paraphrase Stephen Covey, "First seek to understand before being understood."    
• Try and keep an open mind. Ask, whether there is another way of explaining the situation.    
• Try and see the situation from the other side's point of view, and consider what contribution you might be making to the situation. To continue reading, please click here. 

In1941, the Nazis were finalising their plans for invading the Soviet Union, when word reached  officials in Berlin, that a Finnish Business man, Tor Borg (above) , had taught his dog, Jackie, to to give a mocking Nazi salute in response to the word "Hitler". 

The Nazis were so enraged by this act of defience, that, when they should have been planning the invasion of the USSR, they began an immediate investigation of Jackie and Mr Borg. This is  according to records newly discovered in Berlin. The Nazi investigation of Jackie the dog, produced over 200 pages and consequently, diplomats in Finland - an ally of Nazi Germany - were told to gather evidence for an arrest. 

"This is a funny story, but it is a Nazi story which tells how they were looking for enemies everywhere" said The historian Klaus  Hillenbrand, who unearthed the documents.


This is a funny story, but it also vividly illustrates how even the most disciplined organisation has the ability to distract itself with trivialities when a big task is around the corner.