Today I’m allowing myself to bring a bit of humour to our serious business topics. Even so, it’s a good example of how to think when approaching a negotiation. The man in this story has a business plan, a business system and the execution to match.
Mr Martínez, aged 65, had been working his whole life, waiting for the moment when he could get rich, but it never happened.
He pinned his hopes on his only son, who had finished a degree in economics but was on the unemployment rolls. One night, Mr Martínez drew up his plan.
The next morning he sat his son down at the table. The son was in no particular hurry, having no job to go to. Mr Martínez said:
“Son, I’ve found you a girl to marry.”
Puzzled, the son replied:
“But Dad, don’t you think I should be the one to choose? You can’t make me marry a woman I’ve never even met.”
His father answered:
“But son, she’s Bill Gates’s daughter, and one day you could be running his company.”
The son’s eyes opened wide, with dollar signs ($) already shining in them.
“That’s a good idea, Dad. Of course I’ll marry her.”
Mr Martínez’s plan went on. After making 127 phone calls, he travelled to Bill Gates’s house, where Gates received him in his luxurious living room. Mr Martínez began:
“Mr Gates, I have the ideal husband for your daughter, and I’d love to hold the wedding as soon as possible.”
Bill Gates could not believe his ears, and exclaimed:
“You must be mad. My daughter will decide who she wants to marry. That’s for her alone to decide.”
But Mr Martínez’s art of negotiation was not finished yet:
“Look, Mr Gates, this young man is the vice president of the World Bank, so it would be in your interest to have him in the family for future projects.”
Bill Gates replied:
“If that’s the case, I’ll do everything I can to make sure my daughter marries him. In fact, a father’s duty is to give his daughter the very best. You can count on it, Mr Martínez.”
As soon as he left Bill Gates’s house, having barely eaten or slept, Mr Martínez headed for the World Bank’s headquarters. He got a meeting with the President of the bank, and once they were seated in his office, he began:
“Mr President, I’ve found a young man with great career prospects to fill a vice president’s post at your bank.”
The President of the bank replied:
“But I already have 37 vice presidents. Why would I want another one?”
Mr Martínez replied:
“Because this young man is Bill Gates’s son-in-law.”
The President of the World Bank replied:
“HIRED!!!”
And that is an example of how to do good business and how to negotiate a good deal. And now, back to our usual topics:
Further reading
- How to become a successful entrepreneur
- 5 ways to grow your business
- Why new businesses fail
- The entrepreneur’s mindset
Featured image: AgnosticPreachersKid, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
