Dear Statio,
I wrote you a letter a while ago. Have you read it? I am talking about my introductory note. You can find it here.
I want to believe that you know that Startups face many challenges when bringing an idea from concept to fruition. One area of expertise that is often needed which can determine their success is the ability to negotiate.
If you can’t negotiate, you can’t be a successful entrepreneur.
Let me tell you a story. A story on Negotiation Intelligence. Real Life!
Have you heard about the Shard?
The Shard, formerly London Bridge Tower, is a 95-story skyscraper in Southwark, London. It’s the tallest building in the Europe Union. It was designed by the famous Italian architect, Renzo Park.
Renzo designed other iconic buildings including the Centre Pompidou in Paris, Times Building in New York, Kansai International Airport in Osaka amongst many others.
He is the architect’s architect. One of the Greats.
But he’s also a business genius based on how he negotiated The Shard project. Here is how:
When the developers approached Renzo to design the building, they knew his stamp and imprint on the project will be of significant value.
They offered him £1,000,000 for his concepts.
An average developer would have jumped on this immediately.
Renzo didn’t.
Instead, he offered to do it for free in exchange for something else.
Renzo knew that his idea and concept will be of greater value after the project is done, not before.
So he asked for the penthouse suite in the building for his efforts.
To the developers, the suite would cost less than a million to build, so they said yes.
When The Shard was opened 3 years later, the penthouse became the highest apartment in Europe, with an astonishing view over London. You can almost touch the skies. And everyone below looks like a minion.
The suite would become one of the hottest apartment in Europe. Collector’s item available only to the wealthy few.
Renzo sold the apartment for £20,000,000 later.
It was 20x more than what he was offered.
That’s what I call Negotiation Intelligence!
It has been said that in business, as much as in life, there are two types of people. The ones that play checkers (draughts) and the ones that play chess.
People that play checkers see everything from its immediate transactional value. They are driven by instant gratification.
People that play chess play the long game. They are people of delayed gratification.They do what Gary Vaynerchuk calls ‘Jab, jab, jab, right hook’.
Proper Negotiation Intelligence (N.I) skills can help you close excellent deals and gain a reputation. I know that not all entrepreneurs are born with effective negotiating abilities, they can all perfect them if they’re dedicated.
In my next letter to you, Statio, I will tell you about the laws of N.I
Will you read it?