Negotiations Ninja Podcast

We all want to walk away from our negotiations with more value, but for that to happen we've got to rethink and reapply a kind of negotiation training that can get us there. Keld Jensen is at the forefront of a movement to rebuild negotiation training from the ground up, starting with a mindset that moves away from the Zero-Sum game that most of us have been taught and toward an approach that adds...

ERP implementation is a difficult and lengthy process that can make or break an organization. So how does an enterprise roll out the implementation effectively and efficiently? What processes or procedures can smooth the transition from an old system to a new one? Shaun Syvertsen with ConvergentIS shares how to make the process easier and how to avoid common failure points. He emphasizes the neces...

Robert Semethy joins us in this episode of Negotiations Ninja —all the way from Vienna, Austria. Robert is the Chief Procurement Officer at Erste Banke—which is now celebrating its 200th year. We talk about differences in procurement and negotiation between Europe and North America. What do we need to know if we're working or living in Europe? What are the primary differences from the viewpoint of...

The wonderful Bernice Lee returns to the podcast to share more about Chinese business etiquette. Bernice is an etiquette coach who was raised in Canada, worked in the U.S., and is now based in Hong Kong. She teaches Westerners and the local business communities all about the ins and outs of doing business in Hong Kong and China. She's an expert on the correct way to greet people, what to avoid, th...

Antonio Humphreys leads marketing procurement at Adobe and joins us to chat about identifying and solving internal challenges. Antonio helps us dispel the myths around challenging internal customers and what we can do to improve these internal relationships. Spoiler alert! A lot of it comes down to Emotional Intelligence (EQ). Antonio delves deep into the human-centered approach procurement profes...

Jason Cammorata joins us to chat about the benefits unique and different backgrounds can have for procurement professionals. As a long-time, high-performing musician, Jason learned a lot about performance, planning, and preparation that he's applied to his procurement and negotiation career. What lessons can we learn from our past experiences? How can we take the skills we've learned and leverage...

In this episode of Negotiations Ninja , we're talking with Matthias Schranner—former hostage negotiator and founder of the Schranner Negotiation Institute—about the mistakes that people make in negotiations. We're focusing on the biggest mistake—the avoidance of deadlocks. Why shouldn't we avoid deadlock? Because sometimes starting in a deadlock gets you to the best possible outcomes. Matthias sha...

This week we're chatting with Cal Chrustie, a war-time and hostage negotiation expert who now consults with organizations around the world. In this episode of the Negotiations Ninja, he talks about what he calls the three S's—strategy , structure , and self . How do we strategize for negotiation? What's the structure of a properly set up deal? And the third S—self: How do we go about understanding...

In this episode of Negotiations Ninja , I'm chatting with Eric Germa—one of the most interesting and driven procurement professionals I've ever spoken to. Eric is the SVP of Strategic Procurement at Macy's. This conversation is all about procurement transformation . Transformation is an expansive topic, covering everything from change management, upskilling your team, and becoming the leader that...

What is a win-win negotiation? Is it even appropriate to think a win-win negotiation is achievable? The fantastic Mr. Chris Voss, author of Never Split the Difference , returns to the Negotiations Ninja podcast. Chris was the FBI's Chief International Hostage Negotiator for many years and is an author and prolific speaker. In this episode, we challenge the widely-held belief of a win-win negotiati...

Duncan Brock joins us to discuss the activities being undertaken by the UK and the EU as they try and get an exit deal signed. While we're all having a hard time understanding the nuances and complexity of Brexit, Duncan is fully up to speed on how it's affecting the UK's economy, how people work, and the entire supply chain. This is a fascinating conversation on what the future for the UK and the...

Are robots and computers taking our jobs? The speed and pace at which digital procurement and artificial intelligence are moving are incredible. The brilliant Hugo Evans joins us to help sort out all our questions about what's going on in the artificial intelligence and digital procurement space. How do I use AI? What's the impact of using AI technology? Will it change my headcount? What are the c...

What are the pros and cons of negotiating in teams? How do we get more out of collaborative team negotiations? What happens when negotiation professionals get so caught up in worrying about what others think of them that they freeze and don't close with a great ask? Michael shares advice on getting past the fear and delivering on the ask. Michael Leiken—now the Senior Director of Spend Management...

Rendi Miller, the VP of Corporate Services and Source-to-Pay at Zendesk joins us to chat about great customer service. She shares her insights about what it's like to work for a company whose business is literally customer experience and customer service. What customer service and experience insights do you have to develop first with your internal business stakeholders? How can people in procureme...

Today the truly amazing and inspiring Natasha Gurevich joins us. Natasha is the Vice President of procurement at Salesforce. She discusses her philosophy on leadership, negotiation and internal collaboration. She shares her incredible story of coming from a former Soviet Union country to starting her career in procurement. She discusses the journey she took to becoming the VP of one of the largest...

The wonderful Bernice Lee joins us today for a fascinating conversation about etiquette in Hong Kong. With so many of us traveling to Hong Kong and mainland China for business, understanding the cultural norms and business etiquette of the local area is critical. Bernice shares what to do and what NOT to do.  She helps decipher what conversations are appropriate at the dinner table, what proper gr...

This week's solo podcast is for all my sales friends around the world. I get a lot of questions from sales professionals about how to have a successful sales meeting with procurement professionals. You've secured your first sales meeting with a procurement team—now what? What content should you cover? Who's your audience? Are there more stakeholders outside the procurement team? What are the logis...

Marty Latz joins us to help understand how Donald Trump negotiates. Marty has analyzed more than 100 Trump negotiations and shares dozens of Trump's strategies - highlighting which to use and which to avoid. Regardless of where you stand politically, that one new Trump tactic you gain may make the difference between walking away a winner and leaving empty-handed. What does it all mean for Trump as...

Why is listening a vanishing art and hard to do effectively when it's really so simple? When was the last time you viewed listening as a skill that can be taught, developed, and nurtured over time? In today's hyper-connected, digital age of chaos, conflict, and confusion, we are more connected than ever to other people. But are we also on the brink of an epidemic of loneliness? Dan Oblinger—the au...

I'm really excited to have Siddharth (Sid) Ramesh on this week's show. Sid is the manager of strategic sourcing in the technology space at VSP Global, where he's been for 5 years. His career is on a meteoric rise. He's been nominated for a SIG Future of Sourcing Rising Star Award and he's a trusted source for everything related to procurement. In addition to being super smart he's really nice—defi...

Negotiation is a psychological game between individuals. To play it effectively, you have to know the rules of the game. So what role does trust play in the big game? Keld Jensen, an internationally recognized author and adviser on behavioral economics and decision making, joins us to discuss the big topic of trust. Why is trust required in negotiations? How do we develop trust? What are the essen...

This week David Lax, co-author of 3-D Negotiation joins us. Often negotiators get stuck in the win-win or win-lose debate and focus on face-to-face tactics (the first and second dimensions). What sets the 3-D approach apart is its "third dimension". Before showing up at a negotiation, 3-D experts ensure that the right parties have been engaged, in the right sequence, to address the right interests...

We've got an amazing episode with Gary Noesner. Gary was the FBI's first Chief Negotiator and discusses his fascinating memoir Stalling For Time. Gary takes readers on a tour through some of America's most famous hostage crises including the Montana Freemen standoff, and the D.C. sniper attacks. Gary was on the front lines of Waco and is portrayed by Michael Shannon in the miniseries Waco. He offe...

Brexit. The USCMA. Tariffs. The world's most powerful trading partners. We're chatting about international trade with none other than the great Hampton Dowling. He supports businesses, organizations, and politicians with an insider's view as they navigate their way through large, complex international trade deals. We're chatting about when trade and politics collide, separating people from the pro...

You're in a situation that's looking like it's quickly turning into a crisis situation. What do you do? You're in a situation where someone might harm themselves or someone else. What does it take to control and resolve the crisis? Scott Tillema, a police negotiator shares the steps you can take to control of the situation. Scott talks about mental health and what you can do for your loved ones wh...