1/11/2003 12:20:09 PM|||Travis|||

Yesterday two amazing things happened, ill put them in seperate posts.

First off there was the morning call to an important businessman at a large game company who was interested in working on Eschaton. It was an interesting situation and I planned for it for a night and one morning. Luckily I ordered a Harvard Business Review article on Persuasion and Negotiation and got some expert advice on the subject that I reviewed for a while. The advice was sound, and went something like this-

When negotiating there are three important steps (i might have left one or two out, but three MAIN steps.) First off you need to get a clear cut definition of what you want. This may sound simple, but everyting else depends on it so you need to think about it, write it down even. Then you examine who you are negotiating with and ask yourself - what are their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The SWOT analysis is standard business practice, but this negotiation advice is sound in many other walks of life. I use it to get girls to do stuff with me (which is harder in many respects than conducting business) but I digress.

Once you have analyized your opponent, then it is time to strucuture the 'frame' which is about 10-15 words that links everything together. The frame states your objective while taking into consideration the opponent, and that way both sides win.

So in my case I was trying to get a seasoned execuative at a huge game publisher to come and work for a 4 person team making our first game title. I knew that he had managment experience, and I took that into account. I also wanted to let him know that I intend to make Eschaton a valuable franchise that spanned more than one game. I also wanted to let him know that our team was capable and yet small. I came up with this :

Our small effecient team needs a competitive schedule to launch the first product of our Eschaton franchise.

Then I made a couple of points that support this 'frame,' which is functionally equivelent to a thesis in a paper. I thought about why our team is competent, the potential of Eschaton and what an experienced manager could do for us.

The effect was quite successful overall, and I think he got the impression about how serious I was and is guinely interested in our company. When I actually meet him in a couple weeks I should get a much better understanding of him and see if there is chemistry between all of us. He could make it all happen though, he has the know-how and the connections to realize our dream.

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