The Failure of Negotiations - Part 1

You have your restaurant reservations, you look dapper and the only thing left is to tie those shoelaces and drive down. You put on your brown shoes that best compliment the outfit but your partner is convinced that the black ones are the better fit. After some deliberation, you compromise and wear one brown, one black. Yes, you avoided a momentary spat but it takes away from the perfectly put together dinner attire.

Similarly, business starts with a vision and this should ideally be the end goal. Along the way, every founder and CEO like our protagonist will be asked to compromise or settle to an easier or supposedly cost-effective solution. However, these decisions could be the difference between failure and success. While compromises pacify people, they are set-backs if they do not help the business further its objectives. 

Every step impacts your prospects and therefore needs to be weighed on their pros and cons to see how they align with the brand goals. Once you know your true goal, your decisions on hires and resources should complement the organisation’s mission. Fill your ranks with teams that are not afraid to follow grand ambitions and are able to deliver results that enable your business into being a pervasive force in the field.

“Five hundred dollars? Fully subsidized? With a plan? I said that is the most expensive phone in the world. And it doesn't appeal to business customers because it doesn't have a keyboard which makes it not a very good email machine."

These are words Steve Ballmer, the former Microsoft CEO reportedly said when the first iPhone was unveiled in 2007. What Balmer did not see coming was that thirteen years down the line while other brands play catch-up, Apple still continues to be among the stronger contenders to date if not the strongest in creating the unconventional. Apple could have compromised on its vision to launch new updates and features to a simpler route of developing the model and style of the brand aesthetically. In fact, Motorola did precisely that. 

A brand with the same potential to marshal a revolutionary line of products in the telecommunications game yet failed to do so because it decided to trade-off developing technologically innovative features. It decided to launch a product that would look good visually to appease the customers. A few missteps by Motorola cost them millions down the line. Could Balmer’s famous words have been about Motorola had it opted to push the envelope and stay true to its vision?  What would have happened if Motorola had not compromised? If compromises work for you, do leave your comments here…