Gentle Power

In this episode of Gentle Power, we unpack a situation that comes up often in our client work: navigating moments where you feel undervalued, dismissed, or treated aggressively by the other side. We talk about how to respond without escalating the situation, how to protect your leverage, and how to distinguish between a one-off bad interaction and a real red flag about the company. Our conversatio...

We’re back this week with Part 2 of our conversation with Arben Malaj, former Minister of Finance of Albania, and also Gerta’s father. Quick recap: In his early 30s, Arben was tasked with stabilizing Albania’s economy during its 1997 financial crisis and civil war. His work put him across the table from institutions like the IMF, World Bank, and EU Commission, in negotiations where the power imbal...

In this week’s episode, Gerta sits down with her father, Arben Malaj, for a candid conversation about leadership under pressure, values-based negotiation, and what it looks like to take responsibility when everything is on the line. Arben is a prominent public figure in Albania and served as Minister of Finance during the country’s 1997 economic collapse, when pyramid schemes wiped out roughly hal...

This week, we talk about a type of negotiation most people deal with far more often than job offers: negotiating with hotels, airlines, and everyday services. The conversation was sparked by a real hotel booking situation that arose from Gerta’s upcoming MIT masterclass. Our conversation covers: Why everyday negotiations still benefit from a clear ask How light preparation works better than rigid...

This week, we’re sharing Gerta’s interview with Meredith Baker of the Powerful Stuff Podcast , a podcast for cheeky self-development. Their conversation is a refreshing reminder that negotiation doesn’t have to feel like a cage match. Gerta breaks down the mindset that makes negotiation work better (collaboration, goodwill, and even playfulness), plus a handful of tactics you can use immediately,...

Most weeks on Gentle Power, we talk about power dynamics in professional settings like job offers and negotiations. In this episode, we focus on negotiations in none other than… love and dating! We explore how vulnerability, power dynamics, and behavioral psychology shape connection and influence, often in ways people misunderstand. Our conversation covers: Vulnerability feels like weakness but it...

This week we sat down with our friend Victor Hsu, a New York - based real estate broker who works with global families, primarily Chinese, navigating the U.S. housing market. Victor’s perspective blends cultural nuance, decades of on-the-ground experience, and a front-row view into how real people behave when the stakes feel high. The overlap between real estate and hiring negotiations turned out...

There’s one insight in our client work that many people would find surprising: mid-career professionals often land stronger increases, both in percentage terms and in absolute dollars, than do senior executives. At first glance, it feels counterintuitive. Senior leaders negotiate business deals, oversee large teams and budgets, and carry higher titles that signal experience and competence. But job...

This week we spoke with our friend Matt LeBaron, cofounder and CEO of Pocketbook. Matt helps large companies evaluate their software vendors, renegotiate contracts, and make smarter decisions about their tech stack. He also works as a part-time consultant with Adobe’s software procurement team. Our conversation covers: How Matt creatively turned a full-time job posting from Adobe into part-time cl...

This week on Gentle Power, we’re joined by Shawna Samuel, an executive consultant who focuses on supporting executive-working mothers in demanding roles.  Shawna began her career in global finance, where she spent two decades shaping partnerships across the US and Europe. When she became a mother, the structure that had supported her career started to feel less stable. Her responsibilities grew wh...

This week on Gentle Power, we explore how Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy has changed the way we think about negotiations. The IFS school of thought is based on the idea that we all have different “parts” within us that try to protect us in different ways, and this framework offers surprising lessons for how we show up in high-stakes conversations. Our conversation covers: Why curiosity work...

In this episode, we break down one of the most overlooked negotiation traps: how people give away their leverage when they think they’re actually helping their case. From revealing salary history to competing offers to personal disclosures, even senior leaders can unintentionally anchor themselves low and limit their earning power. Our conversation covers: How one of our high performing, executive...

In this episode, we discuss a common dilemma: how to negotiate when the job opportunity came through a referral. Many people hesitate to negotiate in these situations out of fear of seeming ungrateful or straining the relationship that helped them get in the door. We share how to approach these conversations without creating awkwardness or risking the relationship. Our conversation covers: Why a w...

This week we’re joined by Alex Daniels, founder of Decrypted Law and a JD-MBA who is ex-Google, has advised startups and investors during his time at Cooley, and now through his own practice. Alex helps founders and employees navigate legal complexity and drive equitable outcomes through intentional legal design. We explore the structures that keep negotiations ethical, equitable, and grounded in...

In this episode, we’re joined by corporate attorney and SaaS dealmaker, Omeed Tabiei, whose career spans Hyperloop’s moonshot years, two startups of his own, and now a boutique legal firm that helps software founders from incorporation to exit. We dig into how negotiation really works across the startup lifecycle: pricing your services, converting cold outreach into warm relationships, and protect...

In this episode, we’re joined by Mariane Bekker: engineering leader through six exits, former Director of Engineering at Mindbody, and founder of the 80k-member tech community, Founders Bay. Our conversation explores pay and negotiations from the hiring side, how bias actually shows up in offers, and how women (and allies) can ensure fair offers from both sides of the table. We cover: How to avoid...

This week we’re sharing a live workshop we hosted with Marianne Bekker (Managing Partner, Founders Bay) on how founders can negotiate across every phase of the startup journey, from co-founder splits to investor terms, design partners, vendors, and early hires. Gerta walks through a practical framework for keeping leverage, avoiding common traps (like giving numbers/ranges), and aligning deals to...

In our first in-person interview, we sat down with David Carvalho: entrepreneur, veteran DJ, and the man behind some of San Francisco’s most iconic tech and music events. For more than two decades, David has booked talent for Dreamforce, the Super Bowl, and private gatherings for Silicon Valley’s most influential leaders, while also performing at Coachella, Ultra, Outside Lands, Giants, Warriors,...

We often get asked, "What does a negotiation service look like?" In this video, we go into detail on exactly what our clients experience when they work with us to negotiate their compensation. If you're in the job search or expecting upcoming negotiations, book a free call with us to get free negotiation tips for your situation and to explore if we're a good fit to work together! Find a time here:...

In this episode, we unpack the exact words and phrases that quietly tank negotiations, and what to say instead. A recent study conducted by Neil Rackham shows skilled negotiators use far fewer “irritator words” like “fair,” “reasonable,” and “generous,” because those labels backfire. We cover: The “irritator words” to avoid based on the study (“fair offer,” “reasonable,” “generous”) and simple, be...

In this episode, we tested AI against some of our most common negotiation questions to find out where it helps, and where it confidently steers you wrong. On paper it looked helpful, but the devil was in the details; the results were a mix of good reminders and dangerously misleading shortcuts. We covered topics like: Why “market data” (Glassdoor, Levels, Blind) rarely moves real offers, and what...

In this episode, we cover: A real-life example of an offer letter from a major company that seemed to grant $50K/year in equity, but turned out to be far less Simple ways to ask for clarity without sounding combative Why assuming best intent helps you keep leverage and relationships intact We also share: A Burning Man story that raised the question: do we negotiate with friends? The classic “split...

In this episode, we cover: Why even world-class professionals with top MBAs and deal-making experience can still mishandle their own salary negotiations The stigma around hiring a coach, and how it’s no different from hiring a trainer, therapist, or MBA consultant to help you level up The gap between knowing good advice and executing it well when the stakes feel high and context matters Why AI is...

This week, we spoke with Kevin Houng, an HR/people business partner, former employment attorney, and one of Alex’s longest friends, who’s helped launch dozens of venture-backed teams and guided executives through complex compensation decisions. In our conversation, we covered: How companies actually decide budgets for open roles, from scrappy startups to Fortune 500 giants Why larger organizations...

For this week’s episode of Gentle Power, we welcome our very first guest: Joe Dillon, founder of Equitable Mediation. Joe has spent nearly two decades helping couples navigate the high-stakes, emotionally-charged negotiations of divorce without lawyers, achieving outcomes that protect both their finances and their future relationships. In our conversation, we explore the surprising overlap between...