I read in the paper this weekend about the idea Greece has to bring in some much needed cash to help it spring from the deep recession and bail-out culture they’re in.
And we Brits did it in the Second World War when we ran out of cash too.
Yet this idea can help you enormously when negotiating.
Let me explain.
Greece has 6,000 islands, many of them uninhabited and a wondrous climate melted into the Mediterranean Sea. The idea proposed by Mr Samaris, is to lease these islands to foreign cash rich companies to build tourist centres, hotels, and second homes for Northern Europeans.
We can all own a little bit of Greece.
The money will get them out of trouble that they find themselves in.
Us Brits did the same thing in the Second World War. We had plenty of spare islands around the globe thanks to our massive empire so we leased them and sold them to our American cousins…for a price of course…and this gave us munitions, tanks and ships we desperately needed.
The lesson? Think about what you can give to the other party when negotiating that might help to reach a win-win conclusion. Think about what you can concede or give that costs you little or nothing but is extremely valuable to them. That may help them to conclude the negotiation giving you the main prize.
A second home in Greece for me would be marvellous; an uninhabited island to the Greek nation, leased for 50 years is not a major hardship for them.
Clever Greece, that’s what I say, thinking laterally.
