At Noble Eightfold, LLC, we have been negotiating IT contracts for over ten years. During this time, we had many conversations with C-Suite members who taught us that there are basically two schools of thought

C-Suite members who subscribe to one school of thought believe in keep-

prefer to pay an annual salary to an

employee with vendor management

-one who will negotiate, execute and manage contracts, oversee purchase orders, track spending, and handle additional duties as required. For just one annual salary, a multitude of tasks

many might think that this strategy would save a company money because the savings generated would not be shared with the Vendor Management

the case.

C-Suite members who subscribe to the other school of thought see ne-gotiation as something that requires

solely manage executed agreements and other administrative tasks that do not involve contract negotiations.

--

tion that allows them to create greater

of the VMO and utilizing the savings -

ning a business. One common thread that connects every C-Suite member is the desire to generate the largest savings for their

so when IT expenses are factored in because they can easily be the biggest portion of a corporate budget. How-ever, the most debated aspect of this

PUBLISHED BY NOBLE EIGHTFOLD - MASTERS AT THE SCIENCE OF IT NEGOTIATIONS

THE NEGOTIATION DISPATCHVol. 1, No. 1, August 2020 Inside This Issue

Discussing the Wiser Choice - VMO vs Negotiation Firms

CIO HIGHLIGHTWe interview Carlos Garcia of Alvarez & Marsal

WHEN YELLER RUINS THE DEAL

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND NEGOTIATIONS

C-Suite Negotiations

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is deciding on the best approach to accomplish this goal. While there are many initiatives that can help lower IT expenses, the negotiation of IT contracts is certainly an area that can

the question remains. Should nego-tiations be handled by the internal

Noble Eightfold, LLC has encountered many individuals who lead VMO’s and do their jobs well. However, for the most part, many lack the creden-

is extremely important for an individ-ual involved in negotiations to have the proper skills and training. Excel-lent communication skills and formal negotiation training are essential. A

well-rounded and deep rooted under-standing of negotiation terminology, psychology, and strategies will enable the negotiator to begin the negotia-tion from a position of strength. True negotiators understand that negotia-tions require preparation, which is the key to creating gains.

At Noble Eightfold, LLC, we have o�en

-tion Dispatch. I am very excited to introduce you to and share with you, our current and future clients, a publication that is dedicated to

certain that I wanted it to be informative about negotiations and

quarterly and feature articles pertaining to negotiations, personal experiences, methodology, opinions, and exciting IT news. Each edition will feature insight into an IT executive, a fun puzzle tohelp you brush up on negotiation terms, and thought-provokingquotes.

about the use of IT negotiators, a humorous look at how easilya negotiation can go wrong, and an unconventional interviewwith Mr. Carlos Garcia, CIO at Alvaraz & Marsal.

Best regards,

LETTER FROMTHE CEO

When Yeller Ruins the Deal

Recently, I had the opportunity to observe a ne-

any part of the initial discussions, and my role was only to observe and provide feedback on how the closing was conducted. In attendance, were lawyers from the vendor’s side, the vendor representative, the CIO, the procurement di-rector, and other client team members. As the

they proceeded to go through key points on the contract, mostly wording that had not been

I had concerns with this setting as I wondered why this was not being handled among attor-neys. Nonetheless, I have learned throughout the years that listening and observing before voicing my opinion is very wise in the world of negotiation. Here at Noble Eightfold, we never evaluate contracts for legal wording. We review contracts to ensure that they are in line with the

-ing beyond this. In fact, one key suggestion that we always make to our clients is to send the contract to their legal team. It might extend the process, but the respective legal department knows how to best protect the corporation’s interest. Plus, we strongly believe that no one without a legal background should be evaluat-ing contracts anyway.

As I continued to observe, I realized this nego-tiation was not shaping up to be a good situa-tion. At the end of the contract review, when the call was about to be closed, the procure-ment director blurted out, “About the pricing. We’d like to get a discount.” At this point, I am

2 THE NEGOTIATION DISPATCHTM

seen individuals approach negotia-tions in ways that do not yield greater gains. For example, there are individ-uals who believe that driving a hard

known in the industry as Win/Lose. I refer to it as the Hollywood version of negotiations, where an individual states a demand and stands his or her ground until the other party gives in or the deal is sabotaged. Others rush

provide concessions with disregard to the potential loss or gains, feeling good that they reached an agreement quick-ly. Yet others, settle for what seems

benchmarks in place. None of these approaches lead to high impact gains, which is something every good nego-tiator should pursue for their clients.

stellar when a negotiator lacks proper training and awareness of the various

say that negotiations cannot be con-ducted by a VMO. However, C-Suite members who choose to do negoti-ations in-house should be reminded that it is essential to be aware of the negotiating style of the individual working on your behalf and know with

-nization. Lastly, it is important to keep in mind that no two negotiations are the same. Each assignment requires an analytical approach that is designed

integrity of the transaction as well as that of all parties involved.

At Noble Eightfold, LLC, we have developed a network of IT vendor

seek the best pricing for a client. We use raw pricing data and in-house advisory consultants as part of our approach to negotiations. VMO’s do not have raw pricing data or advisory resources to make sure they are enter-ing a negotiation with the essential in-formation that will yield proper gains. It is also rare that they would have the time to research a variety of vendor options. Noble Eightfold, LLC is better

higher savings. Although we charge a percentage of the savings generated or a retainer fee, our expertise and experience make it possible for us to negotiate contracts that exceed savings

covers our compensation. Noble Eightfold, LLC works with C-Suite professionals who are trans-formational and who are seeking to

-proaches to reach their operational ex-

Eightfold can provide, and they know that we have gained the respect of clients and vendors by engaging in col-laborative negotiations and pro-active advocacy. Our clients understand that a negotiation is a delicate process and the best negotiators focus on choosing

each and every situation. In our next communication, we will elaborate on questions a client should ask before entering into a business

relationship with an IT negotiations -

established, and prepared to represent

Yvonne Perez CEO Noble Eightfold, LLC. 201-616-8944 (Cell)

Yvonne@nobleeightfold.com www.nobleeightfold.com

A FEW NOTABLE NEGOTIATIONS PAST AND PRESENT

• Amazon – Whole Foods merger

• AT&T – Warner merger• UPS Strike of 1996• 1998 NBA/ Player lockout• BP and United States Deep

Water Horizon Oil Spill

Notable Negotiators

• John F. Kennedy Junior• Nelson Mandela• Henry Kissinger• • Ronald Reagan• Angela Merkel

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Continued from page 2

THE NEGOTIATION DISPATCHTM

A pricing question now! Oh, I knew this was about to get interesting. Countdown – 3,2,1, “Well, I think the pricing should be tripled.” says the vendor. “Someone please jump in and save this deal,” I say

-curement director in response yells in an aggressive and demanding tone, “I will not accept anything more than the price we agreed.” Now I’m confused. If he was willing to accept the original price that was agreed, why did he ask for a discount?

south fast.

Eventually, everyone calmed down and the original quote was honored. How-ever, the damage had already been done. Now we also have a vendor representative who is disenchanted (By the way, I high-ly suspect that based on his reaction there were some unre-solved issues linger-ing from their initial conversations), we have a CIO that has lost face, a VMO that has demonstrated

with a negative tone.

Tone, language, and timing are powerful weapons in a negotiation. When we fail to develop a sense of consciousness of the words that we choose and neglect to monitor how we express them in a nego-tiation, we can end up on the losing end. An experienced negotiator knows that there will be times during a negotiation

when the tone must change in order to get what we need, but it is a measured technique, not applicable to all negotia-tions.In this particular situation there were two integral components to the pres-ervation of this negotiation that were missing. Among these were:

Planning – Lack of planning is the number one reason why negotiations

fail. Obviously, the vendor manager did not plan this negotiation to follow a co-hesive timeline. Winging a negotiation never works. You must know how you want to lead your negotiation, outline your BATNA, know your ZOPA, and

-ily adjusted as the negotiation evolves.

Timing – Knowing when to introduce a suggestion, a need, a concession, or sim-ply making a comment is crucial. Even making a joke at the wrong time can

change the tone of the negotiations and not necessarily for the better. Timing is a skill that is enhanced with experience and until it is mastered one must err on the side of caution. In this negotiation

-count should have been made during

At this point, unless the client was will-ing to walk away, the vendor had little incentive to consider any reduction in

price. Especially be-cause this was a one time service.

saying that says, “ You know you have a good deal when everyone is a little

-sonally believe that parties being upset does not necessarily

by collaboration, and if you have collabora-tion, chances are the results will be more amicable.

In 2015, Ayatollah Ali Khamene apparently said to his for-eign minister Mohammad Javid Zarif, “Why are you yelling in negotiations? Smile and Speak. Do not quarrel at the negotiation table. Reason with them.”

Zarif was accused of yelling at then Secretary of State John Kerry.

So with this I say to you all, Shhhh! No Yelling Please!

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Continued from page 2

CARLOS GARCÍACIO- Alvarez & Marsal23 Years Experience in IT

Q: If you were not a CIO, what other dream career would you have pursued?

A: I probably would have been a pilot somewhere.

Q: What about being a pilot is attrac-tive to you?

A:

Q: What aspect of being a pilot coin-cides with being a CIO?

A: “Using the tools and technology before you to get to where you want to be.”

Q: Who is your all-time favorite ath-lete?

A: “Graig Nettles – I was a third baseman in high school and I thought

he was a tremendous defensive third baseman.”

Q: What advice did you get that turned out valuable in your career as a CIO?

A: At the start of my career at UPS, one of my managers said, “ Always autograph your work with quality.”

Q: What personal quality do you feel you is most useful as a CIO?

A: “My element of being a risk taker. Not to a crazy extent, but there is an element of risk that you have to be willing to do.”

Q: Can you share one personal thing people do not know about you?

A:

Q: Noble Eightfold supports a few organizations, one of which is the Inner City Scholarship Fund in NYC, and is the direct supporter of one of its schools in East Harlem. You men-tioned that you were a product of this organization. Is there anything you would like to share?

A: “During my time at Cardinal Hayes High School, I was granted a schol-arship for my senior year tuition by the Inner City Scholarship Fund. Fast forward 22 years, I had the opportu-nity to serve as a board member for the Scholarship Fund for Inner City Children in NJ. It’s not related to the NYC organization, but it does have the same mission.”

Q: What brought you to utilize the ser-vices of Noble Eightfold?

A: “I was looking to reduce expenses -

-tion expertise nor did they have any

Q: Carlos you have the last statement. How would you like to end this inter-view?

A: yours are overlooked, underrated, and misunderstood, yet they provide a tremendous value to anyone that is running a technology organization.

are not typical and rarely exist within an organization. I’d like to say thanks. I’d also like to say that these were not the questions I expected, but they certainly made for an interesting and

Q: You have used our services for many years. What do you feel dis-tinguishes us from other negotiation

-lective about the clients you engage. To me it’s an indicator that you will produce savings. As a CIO, NEF also

which allows me to focus on my day to day responsibilities. When you come back to me, it is with a serious and viable proposal that usually requires is review and signature.

CIO HIGHLIGHT

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THE NEGOTIATION DISPATCHTM

self, where he outlines 6 steps towards improving our approach and responses to situations. One of the points that Dr. Ury makes is to focus on the title of this book and pose it as a question

to ourselves, “Have I gotten to yes with myself?.” With this question we can be-gin to determine if our biases, or emo-

our success in negotiations. Sincerely giving thought to this can help us de-

negotiators. We have a responsibility to prepare ourselves psychologically and emotionally to make sure that we are

So, what does getting to yes with your-self mean? To me getting to yes with yourself means really examining who you are and addressing those points

-ic from a negotiation perspective is that as a participant you cannot allow someone to prey on one’s weakness or worse to let our weakness get the best of us during a negotiation. Getting to

yes with yourself requires a certain level of consciousness and honesty with ourselves. One where we see the greater personal gain.

About a week ago, I was on a call with -

tation, the client indicated a disinterest for the product. Suddenly, there was an angry outburst from the vendor, “We’re trying to do a negotiation here.

is an example of someone who has

of their feelings. We can feel it, but we have to be able to take these feelings and use them constructively. During the time I attended Harvard University

professor’s refer to the phrase “going to

removes themselves emotionally from a situation and attempts to look at it from the other person’s perspective.

to calm down and return to the table

In negotiations, it is very important for the negotiator to maintain control, which can be interpreted in a variety of

secondary thought for many. When self control is neglected one loses focus and the wrong emotions take over. I have never participated in a negotiation where anger and resentment have led to mutual gains. When this happens, the negotiator loses ground and their overall strategy is weakened. So next time you are on the negotiating table and emotions are rising, especially yours, take a break. Step away for a few seconds. Reevaluate your negative emotions and their origin and return in full control. If you can control your emotions and release the tension, then you have full control of the negotiation. Be prepared to listen to your coun-terpart and think creatively. Use your emotional intelligence to your advan-tage.

A HealthsystemCIO.com Snap Survey, indicated that 78% of CIOs believe the impact of negotiations can be felt “long

-cient educational resources exist to help

leaders build this necessary skill.

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QUOTE OFTHE DAY

“A negotiator should observe

everything. You must be

part Sherlock Holmes, part

Sigmund Freud.”

– Victor Kiam

to basic number calculations with dis-regard of the importance of the various topics in negotiation theory. I have had conversations with individuals who truly believe that a negotiation is solely about each party giving something to eachother. But is a negotiation really this simple? What happens when one of the parties wants to receive more than what he is willing to concede?

What happens when a party believes that the negotiation has not been “fair” ( Note: Fairness in a negotiation is very subjective.) What happens when a party is not willing to work collabora-

easily give rise to an array of emo-tions ranging from anger, resentment, frustration, disappointment and lack of trust, all which can negatively impact the end result and which deal directly

with emotional intelligence theory in negotiations.

So is it possible to avoid emotions during a negotiation? Absolutely not.

-ever, there are steps that we can take to make sure that we have done every-thing within our power to guarantee that emotions, especially our own, do not interfere with our negotiation

Recently, Dr. William Ury, wrote a book titled, Getting to Yes with Your

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND NEGOTIATIONS

“In my negotiation experience, I’ve long noticed that the cheapest concession you can make, the one that costs you

the least and yields the most, is to give respect.”William Ury

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PUBLISHED BY NOBLE EIGHTFOLD - MASTERS AT THE SCIENCE OF IT NEGOTIATIONS

THE NEGOTIATION DISPATCH

THE MONEY VAULT

ACROSS

7 Expanding the pie8 Win/Win Negotiations10

Best alternative to a Negotiated Agree

DOWN1. Point where a party will not go beyond2. 3. Negotiation plan4. 5. Interactive process between parties6. -

ment9. Zone of Possible Agreement

View the Answers onhttps://nobleeightfold.com/crossword-puzzle-answers

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