The Negotiation Fallacy

Success is a type of mortgage. Repayments are mandatory, and the price is fixed in advance. The contract has some unique clauses however; installment dates can be capricious, and the price extends far beyond currency.

Sadly, repossessions are common - and most are preventable. When bills come due, the majority make a fatal error - negotiating the price.

The classic example in entrepreneurship? Analysis paralysis. This often affects would-be entrepreneurs, and disputes over price are the core reason for the problem. Never lacking an explanation to stand still, reasons span insufficient knowledge to poor economic conditions.

Sometimes, these reasons are valid - the trouble occurs when gridlock becomes your modus operandi. Indeed, this is the dead giveaway you are negotiating price; you have the same problems for an extended period of time.

The psychological mechanics of price negotiation are simple. Using the analysis paralysis example, the goal is to remove risk and uncertainty from the price; common negotiating tactics are to read yet another book, take yet another course, or wait for improved economic conditions. The necessity of delay is always justified; the underlying reality is nothing more than an attempt to negotiate price.

Paradoxically, the problem of price negotiation is worse among the analytically gifted. There’s a well known line in statistics - “torture the data long enough, it will confess to anything.” These types elevate torture to an art form, imprisoning themselves in cages of their own rationalization.

Worse still, their reasoning generally lies closer to nonfiction than fiction. A grounding in fact is often why the problem lies undetected; Stockholm Syndrome masquerades as good judgment. Armed with half truths and full conviction, they have little difficulty persuading others - and even less persuading themselves.

Negotiating the price is not limited to analysis paralysis - look closely and you’ll spot negotiations everywhere. The time taken, the discipline required, the crushing volatility, the bitter loneliness... there’s not a line item that escapes dispute, nor a domain on earth spared.

The pattern is the same - presented with a bill, most pore over contracts in search of loopholes to avoid paying full price. Blinded by the prospect of a discount, they remain oblivious to the payment date on the notice. The deadline lapses soon enough - and the bill is swapped for an eviction order.

Never forget the cold truth: change requires you to give up who you currently are. How frequently this is forgotten is extraordinary; treating features as bugs, attempts to mix and match lifestyles keep otherwise capable men and women on a hamster wheel of their own making.

Chase success by all means, but embrace the entire lifestyle. In business, the price is uncertain installments of conscience, personality, health, fear, loss, and relationships - when the bill comes, tip your server with a smile. Believe prices are fixed and you stand a fighting chance; believe the price is negotiable and the task is impossible.

To drive the point home, burn this image in memory: attempts to negotiate the price are the equivalent of haggling with a vending machine, only to return tomorrow after negotiations reach a stalemate. Many waste years waiting for a discount that never comes; many more will waste their lives.