Putting Experience To Work

Some say that “Common Sense Ain’t So Common” which may have something to do with Professional Courtesy going by the wayside. Professional Courtesy is common sense. The world is getting smaller as we all grow older, our economy is global and the chances of running into the same business contacts more than once has increased exponentially.

More and more as time is going by, it seems since the late 1990’s, people are not returning calls or emails and it has become common place. It used to be, that people respected other’s time and expertise, now it is more about the knee jerk need, and when the job is cancelled or the need has passed (sometimes because it is taken care of internally at the company), the courtesy of a call to cancel the need or an email saying “we found someone else”, seems to be too hard to do.

The next time you run into that person whose call you didn’t return, or email you ignored, how happy or responsive do you think s/he will be. Come on people, put yourself in the place of the person you are not being responsive to. The U.S. economy is recovering, how will you fare when the company with the best people who give the best responsiveness to your need no longer work with you because of your inability to pick up the phone or write an email. Maybe you think that there is a plethora of talent out there just waiting for your call. The truth is, the talent is getting pickier and pickier the better and more skilled they are. Do yourself a favor, be courteous, it pays.

Maybe I’m old fashioned, but I still think that a phone is the most effective negotiating tool and is the fastest and easiest way to resolve a contract negotiation.

I don’t know why it is, but there are people (sometimes clients, sometimes vendors) who think it is more important to document a negotiation, than it is to complete the negotiation and they insist on solely using email to communicate. I firmly believe that once an agreement has been made, it is imperitive for the terms to be written out and approved by both parties. My contractual preference (after watching too much court tv) is to get a comprehensive written contract signed by both parties with the specifics of the agreement.

I have had more than one experience in recent years with clients who are usually harried, their company is usually experiencing a growth spurt and they claim to not have time to read all their emails. Yet, they need my help or the help of one of my vendors and cannot find a minute to just pick up the phone to quickly negotiate for the services.

It is commonly known that emails are generally read as “negative”, especially when there is a negotiation going on and one or both people involved are emotionally attached to the outcome. See the article by the American Psychological Association. This factor keeps email negotiations very low on my list for favorable contractual outcomes.

My most recent experience with this phenomenon ended yesterday. It must have taken the client a total of an hour to write all of the emails he sent to me over the past two days, yet he insisted he was swamped. I suggested a 5 minute phone conversation which would have put his and my concerns to rest, but he would not return my phone call. We eventually resolved the issues via multiple (an not so pleasant emails from his side) emails and we came to an agreement, at which time I wrote him an email outlining our agreement, he agreed, signed and faxed it over, and the project started today.

The point I am getting to is that during the massive amount of email exchanges, he asserted all kinds of unfounded offensive remarks. In my opinion, barraging the opposing party with accusations never moves a situation forward, it usually stymies or kills the negotiation leaving bad feelings on both sides. Bargaining via email, is never a good idea. My suggestion is to Pick Up The Phone and then seal the deal in email. It makes for better partnerships and relationships.

In my next blog, I will address points regarding diffusing hostile or aggressive situations, either via email, by phone or in-person(which usually doesn’t happen, since most people read body language pretty well).

The Past
In 1999 after doing the “build a business” thing for 15 years with my former company - Freelance Hotline in Chicago, I left the corporate structure norm behind. Because of my natural tendencies toward care taking, and the fact I did not have children, my business became family and the workers, my “familial” responsibility. I am not saying that this was a necessarily healthy way to grow a business, but heck, I didn’t know any better and when I started the company at 24 years of age, I knew nothing of what it would become.

In 1999, middle age was upon me, and I knew I had to break the mold of caretaking, because, well, it was breaking me. I sold the company to one of my employees. (I also sold my car, my house, and moved. I know what mid life crisis is… a new start to the second half of life).

Fast forward to 2005.

I decided to get back into the game doing small business consulting; it was great but not enough of a money maker, so I took on creative placement and project management too. The difference? I work from home, all of my people work virtually from their offices or home. And thanks to Basecamp, all projects are worked on virtually.

Seasoned Professionals
Because I am working with seasoned pros that I have known for years, or I know through someone I have known for years, working virtually is mostly a breeze. Once the team members get used to the online software, everything pretty much flows. The clients love it too, they can see each stage of the project and where everyone fits and responsibility is not in question. Love it, love it, love it!!! No employee hassles, only the fruits of our combined labor.

What Do Clients Get?
Control over their project(s), lower project rates, and a team that shows up in person for presentations as necessary. Happy clients, happy team, happy me.

More On Virtual Teaming:
Making Work-at-Home Work for Everyone, on Harvard Business School Working Knowledge 
Team Building for Virtual Workplace, by Mike Dempster, in Business Edge