When negotiating turns out harder than planned, we turn to principled negotiation🧑🤝🧑
This week, we discuss principled negotiation and also kick off the 2Q earnings season.
Morning Stretch with YMP 🌞
This week, Anna launched into the 2Q earnings season. She invests specifically in the healthcare industry which is on 🔥 from stimulus money. Since COVID-19 hit the U.S. in full force in March, 2Q is the quarter where you can see the full impact. We’ve also been noticing more conclusive cost cuts and restructuring as CEOs have greater ability to look into the future to make decisions.
Our motto scribbled all over our 2020 journal is to embrace uncertainty and be anti-fragile.
What’s on Our Mind: Negotiation but Also Pie 🥧
We at YMP are constantly cheering on negotiation wins. We are pushy about asking for what we want and unapologetically celebrate your money wins in our Show Me The Money series on salary transparency.
But sometimes negotiating isn’t so clear cut — for negotiating hard, emotional topics like career roles or parenting responsibilities, the result becomes less about winning a larger share of the pie and more about finding solutions that work.
(1) Make sure you’re focused on the right pie
Companies like Walmart are still cutting staff. It makes sense, because the retail industry is struggling right now, and 23 retailers have filed for bankruptcy in 2020. On the other hand, Costco’s pie is growing faster than ever. It’s much easier working at a growth company vs. one that is looking to cut people every year. Even if you avoid layoffs, you have no leverage. Sometimes it’s worth sacrificing near term cash for a growing role or the right company culture.
P.S. We like to apply this advice to relationships too. Make sure you’re squabbling and sacrificing for the right cutie pie. 😉
(2) If splitting the pie doesn’t work, you can leave and find more.
If you’re passed up for a promotion, it might be a sign to consider other roles. Not only because you feel angry, but because your skills may be valued more elsewhere. Capitalism is an opaque, often unfair system, but you can use it to your advantage too.
(3) Remember that at the end of the day, it’s just pie
These are hard decisions, but it’s important that you make them and move on. You’re too valuable and busy to drag out the past. If you treat that pie like the last pie you’ll ever enjoy, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
An Intro to Principled Negotiation
We talk your ears off about our values, but we want to introduce a negotiating concept that we love called Principled Negotiation by Roger Fisher. The steps incorporate pragmatism, reciprocity and empathy.
Everyone thinks about their own interests and opportunity costs, but hopefully the people you’re dealing with have a common sense of fairness too.
This goes back to our core belief — focus your time on fundamentally good people.
Negotiations within Team YMP
In another effort at uncomfortable transparency, we wanted to share our own recent negotiation. Emily joined Young Money in May, but we’re going separate ways this week after more thought on our collective roles. Anna and Emily began the process of compromising and worked through each point diligently. By the end, we both felt like we were watering down our own individual expectations and neither of us was satisfied. We sealed a deal, and Emily’s off to chase other pies.
What We’re Reading
(1) We’re listening to Michelle Obama’s interview with Barack on repeat.
Politics aside, we love their empowering relationship and lifelong dedication to public service. Anyone else swoon when they swap ‘I love you’s at the end?
If something good happens to you, if you have an advantage, you don’t hoard it. You share it, you give back. — Michelle Obama
(2) Politicians are aiming for another stimulus deal by the end of the week.
Currently up for debate: everything from evictions and unemployment benefits to corporate payroll tax, PPP loans and hospital funding.
Check our guide to the first stimulus plan (CARES Act) to make sure you know all the tax and health related benefits.
Blizzard employees have been sharing their compensation numbers on an anonymous spreadsheet. According to the data, most raises were <10% and below employee expectations. Gaming industry groups are pointing out the CEO’s $40 million compensation and some are calling for unionization.
We think it’s human nature to feel underpaid, but if the large majority of Blizzard employees are unhappy, then there’s probably trouble brewing.
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