Guideline 1
Guideline 1
Guideline 1
Success
Negotiate Your Way to Success
Personal Guidelines to Boost Your Career
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To the most important people in my life.
Description
The number eight is a special number. It is the symbol of infinity
and harmony through the balance of the two interlocking loops. It is
considered an allegory of self-confidence, success, inner wisdom, and
financial abundance. Number eight means that you are on the right path
to reaching your objectives.
I use a guideline as a metaphor for the line by which one is guided
to assist the crossover from a difficult challenge to achieving ones’ goal.
Negotiate Your Way to Success is my story line. The line I am passing
to you to serve as a foundation for behavior that will deliver what you
demand from your professional life and beyond.
Negotiation is both art and a science. A successful negotiation is a
balancing act between strategy, tactics, and the right negotiation
approach. However, it also relies on the ability to manage oneself.
The best negotiation outcomes are the consequences of a coming together
of moments and decisions that prove life-changing.
Negotiate Your Way to Success is a collection of pragmatic
guidelines flowing from the situations that I experienced working
with business professionals across the world. This book is a practical
philosophy of personal achievement that I hope will inspire others.
While career paths and aspirations may differ, certain professional
dilemmas are universal. Bad decisions c oupled with good reflections can
often produce satisfactory outcomes.
Keywords
negotiation; confidence; career development; success; power; empowerment;
self-management
Contents
About the Author�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������xi
Introduction����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������xiii
Interview Insights���������������������������������������������������������������������������������95
Summary of Guidelines�������������������������������������������������������������������������99
References for Further Reading�������������������������������������������������������������107
Also by Kasia Jagodzinska��������������������������������������������������������������������109
Index�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������111
About the Author
Prof. Dr. Kasia Jagodzinska combines an academic career with
international business advisory in the field of negotiations. She served as
a Senior Adviser to the United Nations in Geneva, where she provided
assistance in multi-stakeholder negotiations and conflict of interest
management.
As a professor, she works with students from universities in
Switzerland, France, Italy, and Poland. She holds a PhD in International
Law, is m ultilingual and multi-cultural, having lived and worked in
several countries.
She is the founder of Negotiation Booster (www.negotiationbooster.com),
an innovative approach to business negotiations that leverages the task-
related aspects of a negotiation with the underlying emotional factors.
In her role of international negotiation expert, she mentors and trains
executives from the biggest corporations in Europe, Asia, the United
States, and the Middle East. Working with business professionals from
various industries and sectors gave her an in-depth understanding of the
professional and personal challenges they face in the interactions with
their business partners. Empowering others to succeed and boosting their
negotiation power is her passion.
Introduction
I was standing outside one of the most well-known law firms in the
b usiness district of the city. Rain was pouring down, and tears were
dangerously close to spilling from my eyes. It was at that exact point that
I decided to quit my job, with no other secured option. The sky above my
head was clouded, but the fact that I did not fit in with the organizational
style, the disrespectful boss, the unhealthy atmosphere, and the double
morality of the job itself were crystal clear to me. What I did not know
was that this decision would be a life-changing one. That spontaneous
resignation from the law firm would lead me to develop on a personal
level and build a career in international negotiations in the professional
field.
My professional track was a series of random events and a winding
path of jobs in Paris, Dubai, and finally Geneva. My pursuit of a career
in negotiations started that day when I left the law firm and took a job
with one of the pharmaceutical companies in Paris. This was a big step
for me, both personally and professionally. On the personal level, it
meant moving to a foreign country and moving away from my family,
which was a difficult thing to do. It was also a career switch from being
a jurist to taking over a managerial position in a completely different
industry. Given my background in law, my portfolio of responsibilities
included, among others, contract review and partaking in negotiations.
My responsibilities involved working with partners from Europe, the
Middle East, and the United States. What I loved most about the job
was the international nature of the business activities and the challenges
involved with multi-party negotiations.
Although it took me a total of eight years of studies to get my
Doctorate in law, I never really received any formal negotiation training.
The business world was my school. It was and continues to be a sink
or swim environment. The education process is an ongoing experience.
I learn from my clients with whom I negotiate and from the participants
of my trainings, just as they acquire knowledge from me.
xiv Introduction
1
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Lx4poQw1mZo&t=3s (consulted on October
28, 2020).
2 Negotiate Your Way to Success
fees, and for candidates like me it was meant to shape the school into an
object of desire. I felt like I belonged there. Impressions are not the best
guides since they can be easily manipulated.
As I entered the building, my interviewer was already at the reception
desk waiting for me, even though I arrived in advance. We made our
way to the meeting room. I felt a wave of emotions sweeping over me.
I managed to recall all the things I read about when I was getting ready for
this big shot interview. I was careful to choose a “powerful” yet not overly
dominant place at the table. I accepted the offer to drink something
to show that I am a decisive person who understands their own needs
and is not hesitant about expressing them. My hands were on the table,
my posture was straight, and I maintained eye contact and a friendly
facial expression. I ticked off all the interview-for-dummies tips. Then
the interview started. I expected all the regular questions—tell us about
yourself, why are you the best candidate for this position, what are your
weaknesses (a tricky one), what do you expect your career to look like in
x number of years, and so on. I was ready for such questions, including
the problem-solving, analytical thinking, or verbal-reasoning skills type.
One should also prepare for the unexpected.
The question that hit me like a ton of bricks was when the i nterviewer
asked me to draw my career track. I am blessed to have a few talents.
Drawing is not one of them. Nonetheless, without any hesitation,
I energetically approached the whiteboard and took a marker. Just as my
hand touched the board, the interviewer raised his eyebrows and asked:
“Would you like to take a moment to think?” First warning sign that
I did not pick up on. In my mind I was already in Picasso mode, no
offense to great talents intended. The assignment initially looked like
fun, until my mind went blank. I suddenly realized that I am finding
it extremely d ifficult to draw my multidimensional education and
professional path. After all, back then, my academic background consisted
of a mosaic of legal, literature, and financial management studies. Since
it took me a long time to find out what I wanted to do in life, I obtained
diplomas in different fields. The more options, the better. Flash forward:
The interviewer did not share my opinion.
My professional choices were equally multifaceted; I was bridging
managerial activities with academic activities and business consultancy.
My Career Track Looks Like an Octopus 3
How does one draw all that? Most people go for the safe options—the
stairs, a logical structure that leads from one position to the next. I was
never a fan of linear solutions.
The exercise took some time to accomplish. While I was enwrapped in
my artistic efforts, the interviewer was taking notes on my performance.
Second warning sign. When I finished, he asked me: “What is this?”
I stepped away from the whiteboard to assess the result from a distance.
The change of perspective did not make it any easier to answer his
question. After some thought, I replied: “It is an octopus.” Judging by the
result of the interview, this was not the reply he was looking for.
Although it took me some time to come to terms with the decision,
this experience taught me a few valuable lessons. First of all, life gives
many opportunities, as long as we are receptive to spotting them. Looking
back at how my career unfolded, I believe that the universe does have a
plan for us. What might initially seem like a failure may be a gentle nudge
in another, often better direction. The trick is to keep developing while
looking for an environment where you are valued for your unique mix of
talents. This proved to be the case for me. My career track is an octopus,
and I would not have it any other way.