Topic 81
Negotiation: Do a Time Capsule
Deals are about hard work and often drudgery as the process of discovery takes place and the stress of negotiations unfolds. Everyone likes to be a winner so before your deal starts, have your team members prepare a time capsule of how each feels the deal will turn out.
THE TIME CAPSULE
- Put some humor in your life!
- Prior to commencing with negotiations on a deal, have all your team members put up some cash and secretly write down their guess of where the deal will finally settle out in terms of:
- Cash up front
- Major terms of the deal
- Dollar earn-out, and terms, if any
- Working capital thresholds
- Other key risk allocations positions taken
- Or whether it will crater and not complete
- Put the cash and secret positions in a jar.
- Do not open the time capsule until the deed is done one way or the other.
- Winner takes all!
