To solve impossible problems faster, be unreasonable.

How long before they could create a prototype? This question highlights the critical issue of ...

Business Problems, Gary PeacockGary Peacock5 June 2014Gary Hamel, Innovation, Progress, Resources, Solve Impossible Problems, Problem Solving, StrategicComment

Be a more creative negotiator – focus on joint gains!

Like in many parts of the world, we are seeing some very good companies go out of business or need major injections of cash just to keep their doors open. There are many reasons for their demise, but one disturbing trend is ...

Negotiation, Stephen KozickiStephen Kozicki5 June 2014Creativity, Joint Gains, Negotiation, ConsultingComment

Guru Gary Hamel is Wrong

Management guru, Professor Gary Hamel has produced this short 9-minute video: Are you really serious about innovation. Training everybody in Innovation is pouring money down ...

Business Problems, Gary PeacockGary Peacock5 June 2014Business Problems, Gary Hamel, Solve Impossible Problems, Strategic, Consulting, Problem Solving Comment

The role of the Account Manager

Many companies speak about their Account Manager (alternatives titles include GAM, SAM, KAM and AD) as a single point of contact. Whilst initially this sounds like a good idea for the company and the customer, on deeper assessment it ...

SAM, Account ManagementPeter Browne5 June 2014Account Management, Harvard Business Review, Prof. Rosabeth Kanter, Customer Perspective, AM, SAM, Strategic Account Management, KAM, Key Account ManagementComment

How you Frame Your Communication has a deep impact on Negotiation success!

All of us have been in a negotiation that has ended with ...

Negotiation, Stephen KozickiStephen Kozicki5 June 2014Training, Communication, Framing, Consulting, NegotiationComment

Pitfalls of negotiating with your best customers

Recent research from Stanford suggests we don’t negotiate well with our best customers because we ...

Gary Peacock, NegotiationGary Peacock5 June 2014Margaret Neale, Negotiation, Stanford Comment

Enjoy the Olympics - There are some lessons for negotiators

It is only days away to the Olympic games of 2012. This is a great time to reflect on ...

Negotiation, Stephen KozickiStephen Kozicki5 June 2014Strategic Clients, Training, Consulting, Negotiation, Problem SolvingComment

Most companies do not have a negotiating framework for major deals

I recently completed a major consulting and negotiation project with a global bank. One of the more lively discussions was on how training can help senior executives develop a framework for strategic negotiations. It was clear ...

Negotiation, Stephen KozickiStephen Kozicki5 June 2014Training, Consulting, Negotiation, Problem Solving, Strategic Clients Comment

Leadership drives better results & negotiations with suppliers

As some of you know, from the last blog that I have just returned from an executive workshop at the Harvard Law School, Boston, USA. One main message from the “Negotiation and Leadership” workshop was ...

Negotiation, Stephen KozickiStephen Kozicki5 June 2014FOGM, Leadership, MGSM, Negotiation, Procurement, Strategic Supplies, Training, Consulting, Problem SolvingComment

Negotiations need a solid framework

In their marketplace, your top accounts are under tremendous pressure and are struggling to deal with ...

Negotiation, Stephen KozickiStephen Kozicki5 June 2014MGSM, Training, Account Management, Persuading, Consulting, Negotiation, Problem Solving Comments

With your best customers, should you Persuade or Negotiate?

When consulting, clients often ask when should I negotiate with my best customers?
To answer this question we ...

Gary Peacock, Negotiation, PersuasionGary Peacock5 June 2014Account Management, Negotiation, Persuading, Consulting, Logic & EmotionComment

Managing Strategic Accounts in China

We have entered a new phase, what I call the Era of Rapid Adaptability® of balancing our intuitive self (the Gut feeling) with ...

SAM, Stephen KozickiStephen Kozicki5 June 2014Account Management, Strategic Account Management, China, Culture, Differences, Negotiation Comment

How do you influence your best customers - part 3

In Part 2 we recommended you should ask one simple question: What business results can we help them achieve? The next challenge for you is ...

Gary Peacock, Persuasion, Account Management, SAMGary Peacock5 June 2014Account Management, Negotiation, Persuading, ConsultingComment

Persuading customers you can’t afford to lose - part 2

In part 1, we suggested identifying your customers you can’t afford to lose by looking at ...

Persuasion, Gary Peacock, Account Management, SAMGary Peacock5 June 2014Account Management, Negotiation, Persuading, Consulting, Problem SolvingComment

Risk Management is a key part of Account Management

As we saw with Gary’s post last week, the world of strategic account management is changing faster than the world of social media. To remain a key partner, you must ...

Stephen Kozicki, SAMStephen Kozicki5 June 2014Training, Account Management, Persuading, Consulting, Negotiation, Problem Solving Comment

Persuading customers you can’t afford to lose - part 1

Who are the customers you can’t afford to lose? Often they are those customers who ...

Persuasion, Gary Peacock, Account Management, SAMGary Peacock4 June 2014Account Management, Negotiation, Persuading, Consulting, Problem SolvingComment

Account Leadership is about Accountability

Like many of our clients in Australia, Asia, Europe and the USA, I continually look at ways to grow a sustainable revenue stream and EBIT from our client base. We grow revenue and profit from our top clients by ...

Stephen Kozicki, SAMStephen Kozicki4 June 2014Account Management, Persuading, Training, Account, Consulting, Solve Impossible Problems, Pro, Negotiation, Problem Solving Comment

Solving Impossible Business Problems

One of the purposes of the Gordian Blog is to help busy managers in fast-growing or mature organizations solve ...

Gary Peacock, Business ProblemsGary Peacock4 June 2014Account Management, Business Problems, Negotiation, Persuading, Solve Impossible Problems, Problem Solving, SYIP Comments

Sheena Iyengar says; "The average CEO makes 50% of their decisions in 9 minutes or less."

As we mentioned in our last post, chaotic change is occurring in the business world so you need to be able to ...

Gary Peacock, Business ProblemsGary Peacock4 June 2014Sheena Iyengar, TED, Video, Choices Comment

DECISIVE ACTION IN 2012

We need bold and decisive action in 2012 to deal with the issues of our day. We have entered a new phase, what I call the Era of Rapid Adaptability® (ERA). This means that we need to ...

Stephen Kozicki, SAMStephen Kozicki4 June 20143M, ERA, Era of Rapid Agility, Training, Account Management, Persuading, Consulting, Negotiation, Problem Solving Comment