The Power of Vivid Data

June 28, 2010
Edited by: PON_Staff, filed in: Business Negotiations, Daily, Financial Negotiations, Negotiation, Personal Negotiations

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Adapted from “What’s Really Relevant? The Role of Vivid Data in Negotiation,” by Max H. Bazerman (professor, Harvard Business School), first published in the Negotiation newsletter.

Students at top business schools are in an enviable position to negotiate for issues central to their careers and personal happiness. After all, they’re bright, well-trained, and highly sought after by the finest companies in the world. The process of negotiating their first postgraduate job should be fairly simple, shouldn’t it? Perhaps, yet many recent MBA grads change companies very soon after taking their first position.

To understand why newly minted MBAs often take the wrong job, consider the influence of their peers. At one business school, MBA students would meet between classes in a particular lounge. As recruiting season arrived, the most popular topic of conversation there became job interviews and offers. Statements like these were common:

The medical benefits are very good.
Everyone seemed really happy during my visit to corporate headquarters.
I’d get to travel to Europe regularly.
The starting salary is $130,000.
Employees have significant control over their work assignments.
The office was recently renovated.
I got an offer from McKinsey.

Which statements were most likely to spread on the student grapevine? Those that conveyed the most prestige: The starting salary is $130,000 and I got an offer from McKinsey. Statements about medical benefits and office renovations, by contrast, received scant attention. Other students tended to take note of the most vivid attributes of job offers, and the students who received these offers no doubt noticed that they’d impressed their peers.

See more at: http://www.pon.harvard.edu/daily/business-negotiations/the-power-of-vivid-data/?mqsc=E06/29/10+7:30+AM

Expand the Pie with Matching Rights

June 28, 2010
Edited by: PON_Staff, filed in: Business Negotiations, Daily, Financial Negotiations, Negotiation, Personal Negotiations

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Adapted from “Create Value with Matching Rights,” first published in the Negotiationnewsletter.

The problem: You and your counterpart have different ideas about how much freedom you should have to negotiate with others and/or how long your agreement should last.

The tool: Matching rights (sometimes known as rights of first refusal) are a contractual guarantee between negotiators that one party can match any offer the other party later receives for a given asset. Once the exclusive domain of high-flying mergers and acquisitions specialists, matching rights are now common in many contexts, including procurement, real estate, and investment deals.

How it works: Suppose that a small-business owner is negotiating with a landlord over office space. The business owner wants the stability of a long-term lease, and the landlord wants greater flexibility. They can both meet their goals by adding a matching right to a short-term lease. When the lease expires, the landlord (the “grantor”) will be able to negotiate with other prospective tenants, and the business owner (the “right holder”) will have the chance to match the best offer from a third party.

What it can do: Inexpensive to give and valuable to receive, matching rights can be a negotiation no-brainer. By granting a matching right, you demonstrate your flexibility and goodwill. When you hold a matching right, you gain the opportunity to outbid a future competitor.

See more at: http://www.pon.harvard.edu/daily/business-negotiations/expand-the-pie-with-matching-rights/?mqsc=E06/29/10+7:30+AM

When Emotions Converge

June 29, 2010
Edited by: PON_Staff, filed in: Business Negotiations, Daily, Financial Negotiations, Negotiation, Personal Negotiations

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Adapted from “I Know Exactly How You Feel,” first published in the Negotiation newsletter.

Theorists have long distinguished one-shot deals from repeated negotiations. People who know they’ll never see one another again may be tempted to take advantage of one another, for example. By contrast, parties in ongoing relationships, even ones that have a competitive edge, may temper their behavior, mindful of the risk that “what goes around, comes around.”

Research by Cameron Anderson of New York University’s Stern School of Business and Dacher Keltner and Oliver P. John of the University of California at Berkeley’s Psychology Department suggests another reason why long-term negotiations seem distinctive: people who spend protracted time together become more alike emotionally. This convergence is not quite the same as so-called emotional contagion, the phenomenon whereby expressive people tend to temporarily influence the feelings of those around them. (For example, if you’re in a waiting room with a fidgety person, you’re likely to get a bit more anxious yourself.)

See more at: http://www.pon.harvard.edu/daily/business-negotiations/when-emotions-converge/?mqsc=E06/29/10+7:30+AM

Recommended Book - Predictable Surprise: The Disasters You Should Have Seen Coming and How to Prevent Them

9/11 was preceded by a stream of warning signs in the years and months leading up to the disaster. Yet when the attacks occurred, leaders at every level were taken by surprise. A lack of auditor independence and creative accounting procedures have long been tagged as "ticking time bombs" in the financial markets. However, when Enron toppled, it sent shockwaves through Wall Street - and the world. Why do leaders consistently ignore looming signs of crises even when they know the consequences could be devastating?

Decision-making experts Max Bazerman and Michael Watkins argue that "predictable surprises" - events that catch leaders off guard even though they had all the information necessary to anticipate them - represent a pervasive failure of leadership that holds grave consequences for individuals, organizations, and society.

Predictable Surprises goes beyond simply assigning blame to explore whyleaders so often miss or ignore impending disasters and what they can do to prevent them. Through detailed and riveting accounts of the events, missed signals, and ignored warnings leading up to 9/11, the fall of Enron, and other high-profile disasters, Bazerman and Watkins explain the cognitive, organizational, and political biases that make predictable surprises so common, and outline proactive steps leaders can take to overcome them.

See more at: http://www.pon.org/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=361/&mqsc=E06/29/10+7:30+AM

Camp Wellstone Social Change Training July 30 - Aug 1 Oakland, CA

Camp Wellstone Social Change Training WHAT: Camp Wellstone WHEN: July 30 - Aug. 1 WHERE: Laney College, Oakland CA Click to Register Do you want more skills and stronger networks to help you create the world you want to live in? In just one month, social justice activists, leaders and community members will gather in Oakland to participate in a unique 2.5 day training focused towards social change. The Ella Baker Center has partnered with Wellstone Action! to host Camp Wellstone in Oakland for our Bay Area friends and allies. Come join us, July 30 - August 1 for one of three different 2.5 day trainings tailored to your needs. The Ella Baker Center is committed to building a stronger Bay Area for everyone. But we can't do it without you, only with you. Register now, and join us for a weekend of movement building and a lifetime of social change. The Camp Wellstone Trainings have something for everyone. Whether you're new to the social justice movement, a seasoned activist looking for new skills to win that campaign, or someone who is ready to take your next step in leadership, come join us for an inspiring and empowering weekend training at Laney Community College. Activists, leaders and community members alike will be gathering for a multi-level training, all focused on creating a more socially just Oakland. Around Oakland and throughout the state, organizations and people are getting ready for the fight on important ballot measures and key elected seats. The Camp Wellstone trainings will be an important tool in achieving the social change that's necessary to put both people and the planet before profit this November and beyond. We saw in November 2008 how elections can be a tool for broad change, now we must unite to create change for a lifetime. Come and be a part of that change. Register now. Track 1: Citizen Activism, Advocacy and Organizing: For people interested in citizen lobbying, issue advocacy, and community organizing, this track provides skills to win. Track 2: Working on a Campaign, Tools & Tactics for Success: This track focuses on how to be an effective staff or volunteer member of a winning progressive campaign. Track 3: Being a Candidate: How to Run & Win the Progressive Way: This is for people who want to explore running for office. Registration is based on a sliding scale, $50, $100 or $200. No one will be turned away for lack of funds and childcare can be provided on request. Contact Nwamaka Agbo for scholarships, waivers and requests for childcare. I look forward to learning with you and to creating a space where individuals and movements gain the skills and the power to make lasting change. Make your plans to join us for Camp Wellstone now. We are the ones we are waiting for. Nwamaka Agbo Ella Baker Center for Human Rights PS - This evening, Soul of the City is hosting The Get Down, a party for anyone committed to social justice, at Somar Lounge in Oakland. Please join us.

Ella Baker Center for Human Rights www.ellabakercenter.org | 510.428.3939 344 40th Street | Oakland, CA | 94609 Contact Us | RSS | (c) 2010 Ella Baker Center. All Rights Reserved.

Asia-Pacific Economic Outlook: China, Japan, India, Philippines – June 2010

Asia-Pacific Economic Outlook:
China, Japan, India, Philippines – June 2010
This edition provides a near-term outlook for China, Japan, India, and the Philippines.

From Deloitte, Corporate Governance Monthly

Audit Committee Brief: Audit Committee Composition

Audit Committee Brief: Audit Committee Composition
Audit committees should make sure they have the right composition to manage the complexity of their role. To be most effective, audit committees should periodically reassess the optimal mix of committee members, taking into account regulations and requirements; changes in the business; and the skills, experiences, diversity, time commitments, tenure, and rotation of its members. This edition of the brief reviews composition requirements and provides some leading practices in this area.

From Deloitte, Corporate Governance Monthly

Amma conferred SUNY Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters

May 25, 2010

The State University of New York (SUNY) presented spiritual leader and humanitarian Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi (Amma) with an honorary doctorate in humane letters today at a special ceremony held at its campus in Buffalo.

The event was a great success. We thank University at Buffalo for its outstanding service to education. The updates with photos will follow soon.

SUNY confers honorary degrees to “recognize excellence and extraordinary achievement in the fields of public affairs, the sciences, humanities and the arts, scholarship and education, business and philanthropy and social services which exemplify the mission and purpose of the University; to honor meritorious and outstanding service to the University, the State of New York, the United States, or to humanity at large; to recognize individuals whose lives and significant achievements should serve as examples of the University’s aspirations for its students.”

See more at: http://www.amma.org/amma/international-forum/suny2010a.html

The Ever-Changing Structure of Executive Compensation

The Ever-Changing Structure of Executive Compensation
This issue of Hot Topics includes commentary and polling results from a Deloitte Dbriefs webcast that addressed executive compensation. It addresses recent legislative initiatives; market, shareholder, and proxy adviser perceptions of pay practices; and the impact executive compensation structures have on risk.

From Deloitte, Corporate Governance Monthly

Living with Amma

By Swamini Krishnamritaprana; Excerpted from Matruvani, 2002

From Amma.org

For Grace to flow to us, Amma says that we must put forth a lot of effort. Many people say that everything that happens is destined and that there is nothing one can do about it. Such people, Amma points out, usually go off the spiritual path. The effort that we put forth creates our destiny. Therefore, we should always try to put forth strong, positive effort in everything we do.

There is a story about Beethoven that illustrates the point above. One night after he had performed a brilliant piano concert, many people converged around him to congratulate him. Among them was a young woman who said, “Oh sir, if only God had given me the same gift of genius that you have, I would be so happy.” Beethoven replied, “ Madam, it is not genius or magic. All you have to do is practice hard on your piano eight hours a day after 40 years, and you will be as good as I am.”

Another example is a story about Thomas Edison. He tried using more than 2,000 different materials as filament in a light-bulb, before finding the right material. When a young reporter asked him how it felt to fail so many times, Edison replied, “ I never failed even once. Inventing the light bulb just happened to be a 2000 step process.”

People like Edison and Beethoven have the right understanding about the value of the effort. That is why they were able to accomplish so much in the world. Only when we really strive hard will grace flow to us.

Water, Precious Water

From Amma.org

Just before Amma left for her North American tour, Amma met with all the ashram residents in Amritapuri. A questioner then asked Amma to suggest ways to save resources like water and other natural wealth within the ashram and to make its use efficient so at least the ashram could set an example. Amma said she was so very happy hearing the question on water and natural preservation and that her children were thinking about it. Amma started telling all how precious natural resources were and how important it is to save them.

She suggested having separate pumps in the toilet and using the sea-water or backwater for flushing and separate fresh water for the taps. Amma also pointed out that this solution may be expensive to set up.
Since water taps waste a lot of water when the force is high, one may use accessories that can make the water slower so less water is wasted. Many keep the tap open while brushing, shaving or washing. Amma said we need to be aware and to be patient.

“While traveling in an airplane, the water tap actually trickles and one waits patiently to wash his hands or face, even if a billionaire or a businessman. Similarly in a community like here, one needs to be careful and aware.

The world is going through a tough situation. In the future, there might even be war to get access to water. If it is the problem of the future, we should also be concerned and responsible now. Suppose there is a fire in the ground floor of a block of flats and the person calls out for help, a person living on the tenth floor cannot remain idle saying “it is fire in someone else’s apartment, why should I bother?” Soon the fire may even spread to the tenth floor. Likewise, we are all responsible for what is happening and for what will happen.

Amma said that the ashram belongs to the world. So one should have awareness and responsibility. Preservation of our natural resources should be one of our foremost duties. The natural resources that we consume is the wealth that need to be transferred to coming generations. If we mindlessly exploit the resources, we won’t be able to leave anything for our grand children.