I recently had the pleasure of being on a panel discussion in Australia on the impact of human intelligence (Hi) and artificial intelligence (Ai) and creating a competitive edge by combining both. The main question is always “where do we start”? Start with your strategic goals. Ai and Hi are most successful when you use them to solve a problem or leverage an opportunity. A key message was - technology is an enabler, but success depends on leader’s ability to use technology and people together.

Passion Drives Practice - Practice Drives Success!

Over the past 25 years, as I have worked with individuals, teams and companies on how to be persuasive in front of groups to buy your message, I am always asked the quickest way to be successful.

My comment is always the same, have a solid process behind your message and practice, practice, and then more practice.

Persuasion, Stephen KozickiStephen Kozicki29 October 2018Persuasion, Persuading for Results, Preparation, Practice, PresentationComment

Negotiating: How can you send signals without saying a word?

Consider a typical two person negotiation: buying a house or buying a computer. Our experience shows most of these negotiations involve four major issues. For example, with a house: buy price, when to exchange money, size of deposit, what existing items in the house will be included. Or, when buying a new car: buy price, trade in value for existing car, length of warranty and what extras might be included (e.g. better audio system, rust proofing or special wheels). Whenever preparing for a negotiation we always advise you to use a planning sheet.

Successful Negotiating Teams are well-prepared

Successful negotiating teams need to be well-prepared with solid research, 'what-if' scenarios and all the other essentials of negotiating. But they also need to be well-prepared as a team.

Negotiation, Stephen KozickiStephen Kozicki24 November 2017Negotiation, Team Negotiations, PreparationComment

Why bother with a negotiating process?

Your world is changing, and changing fast: characterised by turbulence; shifting regulations, evolving technology, economic uncertainty, and competitor movement and changing customer needs. These fast changes mean that you and your negotiation team needs to be more agile in response to these drivers.

As we continually say in our books and blogs, competitors are becoming more aggressive – favourite weapon of choice price. Customers are becoming more demanding, and shareholders are demanding increasing profits: so companies must either increase revenue or increase productivity. However, increasing revenue and productivity is getting harder.

The success of a negotiation depends on the planning and preparation done beforehand for each of the four distinct phases of the negotiation process:

How can you become a successful negotiator? (Part 3: Principles of Negotiation)

In a previous blog, we looked at the outcomes of negotiation. To reach these outcomes you need to take into account your own principals and those of the parties with who you are negotiating.

Negotiation, Stephen KozickiStephen Kozicki3 March 2017negotiation, Principles, Agenda, Planning, Preparation, Walk-awayComment

How can you become a successful negotiator? (Part 2 - Outcomes of negotiation)

In a previous blog we looked at the types of negotiation, but it is equally important to choose your outcomes before you begin negotiating. Let's take a look at the different outcomes.

In global negotiations do you understand culture?

We have already explored the theme from market trends: Are procurement undervaluing suppliers? In this blog, we will concentrate on the need to understand culture in global negotiations.

The secret of great global negotiations is not one thing, but many: communication, planning, risk taking and cultural differences. But, one key item or secret of success can be gleaned from Aristotle in his book Rhetoric . The secret is: balance your negotiation argument with logic and emotion.

Brexit Negotiations: How to make the impossible deal (part 3)

In the first blog of this series, we reviewed how to get a deal for Brexit and understood that the top eight countries by population are critical: Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Romania, Netherlands and Belgium. First to prevent a blocking coalition and second to create a winning coalition of countries. In the second blog, we explained how to prepare for these complex negotiations. In this third blog, we will examine roles when negotiating as a team. Then we will look at how to negotiate in multi-party negotiations.

Brexit Negotiations: How to make the impossible deal (part 2)

In the previous blog, we completed the vital step of understanding the process of decision-making. Now we will examine how to prepare for these complex negotiations.

Given the number of countries, it is likely that coalitions of countries will form. Dealing with coalitions requires special skills. But according to Peter Block, one of the most important skills is to say no when you mean no. In other words, a vital part of preparation is to identify what you will not do.

Gary Peacock, NegotiationGary Peacock18 August 2016Brexit, Negotiation, Diplomacy, Substantive Issues, PreparationComment

How to negotiate better: Use time

Imagine the phone rings, a voice says we have kidnapped Jill and you need to pay $500,000 in 24 hours to get her back alive. The phone goes dead, what should you say next time the phone rings?

Before we answer the question, let’s consider ...

Gary Peacock, NegotiationGary Peacock8 April 2016Negotiation, Time, Preparation, ThinkComment

The Zen of high stakes negotiation

How does one transform a sometimes hostile, high stakes negotiation into an empathic process of cooperation? That question has puzzled and frustrated negotiators for decades. A while ago, I sat down for a chat about preparing for high stakes negotiations with Stephen Kozicki, best-selling author, business educator and Australia’s leading specialist in breakthrough business strategies. How he handles high-stakes negotiations will most likely change the way you think about role-play simulation.

By Soren Malmborg

Flatlining 2: Right gives your presentations some heartbeat

Not long after publishing the last Blog, Flatlining: Senior managers does your presentation have a heartbeat? my phone rang. Jo Madden, HR Manager from one of our best customers was on the line. “In presentations, another way to look at adding emotion to logic, is to adding right-brain thinking to left-brain thinking”, said Jo. That was another interesting perspective on Flatlining...

Gary Peacock, PersuasionGary Peacock6 June 2014Video, Emotion, Logic, Left Brain, Right Brain, Questions, Presenting, Preparation, Logic & EmotionComment

How prepared are you for your negotiation meetings?

Have you ever arrived for a negotiation meeting to discover that ...

Negotiation, Stephen KozickiStephen Kozicki5 June 2014Communication, Negotiation, Prepare, PreparationComment