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Re: Pay negotiations: Your power = BATNA * chutzpah
Subject:Re: Pay negotiations: Your power = BATNA * chutzpah From:JIMCHEVAL -at- AOL -dot- COM Date:Thu, 25 Jun 1998 15:39:37 EDT
In a message dated 98-06-25 14:54:14 EDT, mxd2 -at- OSI -dot- COM writes:
<< The BATNA (Best Alternative to Negotiated Agreement) principal operates
in in all negotiations. Your power in any negotiation is directly
proportional to your BATNA. Sure, you can negotiate a raise in any
case, but if you have an alternative employer waiting in the wings, your
present employer *must* listen. If you have no such alternative, you're
stuck with whatever the employer offers. >>
Well, sort of. A little plain chutzpah* can change the balance of power
though.
The first time I negotiated my own rate, I asked for the highest rate I ever
got (I didn't know any better) even though if I hadn't got that project, I was
in DEEP trouble. The guy I was negotiating with was actually kind of a shark,
but he bought it.
When the business manager tried to talk me into a lump deal right after, I
still held to my (extremely tenuous) position. And made multiples of what I
would have if I'd let him talk me into that.
Raw nerve can take you a good distance farther than you have any real right to
go...
Jim Chevallier
North Hollywood
* New Yorkers will need no translation. Otherwise, if you don't know the
word, look it up - it's a good one.