My First Million
The best business ideas come from noticing what's working and doing it better, faster, or for a different audience.
Shift from win-lose to collaborative negotiation approaches
Timeframe: 5-10 year shift already underway
What's Changing
Business negotiations moving from adversarial tactics (leverage, pressure, win-lose) to collaborative approaches focused on trust, information sharing, and mutual benefit
Driving Forces
Long-term relationships more valuable than short-term wins
Information asymmetries are the real value creator
Implementation success requires genuine buy-in
Reputation and network effects matter more in connected economy
Winners
- Negotiators who can build genuine trust quickly
- Companies that focus on implementation success over contract terms
- Professionals who master tactical empathy and information gathering
- Organizations that train collaborative negotiation systematically
Losers
- Aggressive negotiators who rely on leverage and pressure
- Companies that optimize for short-term contract wins
- Professionals stuck in traditional positional bargaining
- Organizations that haven't adapted their negotiation training
How to Position Yourself
Invest in relationship-building skills over pressure tactics
Focus on understanding proprietary information and constraints
Measure success by implementation quality not just contract terms
Build reputation for trustworthy, collaborative deal-making
Early Signals to Watch
Example Implementation
“A private equity firm changes their acquisition approach from aggressive due diligence and leverage to collaborative information sharing, resulting in better deal terms, faster closes, and superior post-acquisition performance.”
Related Knowledge
Tiered Negotiation Skills Community
Most negotiation training is either too expensive for beginners or too basic for experienced professionals, with no clea
Tactical Empathy Framework
Demonstrating understanding of another person's emotions and perspective without agreeing, designed to build trust and e
Listening Hijack Prevention Framework
A system to resist the two main impulses that destroy active listening: the urge to correct and the urge to relate
Steel Negotiation Model
A framework that replaces 50/50 compromise with finding the optimal blend of ideas, like steel being 2% carbon and 98% i
Build trust and gather proprietary information before making any deal proposals
The other party voluntarily shares information they normally wouldn't reveal, both parties understand the real constrain
Apply hostage negotiation principles to business deals for better outcomes
The other party feels safe enough to share their real concerns, both parties work together to solve the underlying probl