Confessions of a Corporate Shopaholic

In this day and age you would think that business negotiations are conducted behind weeks of research, preparation and interests alignment.  Definitely true.  However the more I probe into business deals within even the biggest multinational corporations, the more I am surprised by how reckless some business decisions are made, or deals negotiated.  There are a few mistakes that shouldn’t even be accepted by 12-year olds.

• Unclear and unaligned objectives.  When multiple beneficiaries are involved, negotiations have to be planned carefully with a clear chain of command.  I have seen negotiations that went on for months because certain stakeholders complained about being ignored or neglected.
• Too short-sighted.  If the stakeholders are only keen on getting what they want now, unless we are talking about a product buying contract, there are bound to be issues with upgrading, maintenance, integration, servicing and performance management sooner or later.  Getting a cheap upfront offer but paying a huge price in the years ahead is no doubt a horrible deal.  Many of my clients used to bitch about the careless contracts that they inherited from their predecessors.
• Caught by timeline.  This is a result of poor planning, or sometimes being totally conceited.  They believe the other parties will all cave in  regardless of how tight the deadline is, but little do they know everything comes with a price, and their companies sure aren’t prepared to pay more for their ego.
• Not reading the fine prints.  I hate to believe that some people are just too stupid to not read the fine prints of the contract.  Then they must be so confident that their personal charisma is going to successfully seduce the other party into not executing the protection clauses. 
• Fooled by the oldest tricks.  How many times have you heard the other parties saying “My god, you are such a tough negotiator!” or “I really like working with you – you are very reasonable.”?    The correct reflex action is run, splash cold water on your face, and review the terms once again.  Chances are, you are already in a shitty deal.

There you have it.  As I mentioned before, these silly mistakes (and many more) are still being repeated everyday no matter how advanced the company it is.  That’s why lawyers and procurement professionals still have jobs!