- Never negotiate a biz deal with a stranger using email
In the course of half a dozen volleys, the two of you will wedge each other into corners from which there is no possible retreat or compromise.
Even if you both think the venture would be a Good Idea and even if you both think it’d be fun & interesting, you’ll find perfectly valid reasons to call it off.
Selah.
The Smell of Molten Projects in the Morning 
Comments
4 responses to “Monthly Aphorism: On Negotiation”
There’s a tangentially related idea in economics, that says if you have to get licenses/pay off multiple entities to get a new product to market, each one will correctly conclude that without their individual contribution you can’t proceed, so will overvalue their contribution, meaning that when you go past about four gatekeepers you’re probably paying all your expected profit in licensing.
And, if you dare do software, you must also walk through the patent minefield, then get blown up anyway when a submarine patent surfaces in your vicinity. Sheesh…
“If it were not for (patent) Lawyers, You wouldn’t need them!”
You’ve probably seen my rant on that subject… [sigh]