Sign of a good deal

Some thoughts on negotiation need writing down, because that's how agreements work.

Agreements end not with a handshake but a signature.

I learned why early in my writing career. I was taking a new job editing a weekly newspaper, and all that stood between me and my future boss was salary. I wanted him to match what I was paid in my last job. We were apart $5 a week. Newspaper salaries being what they were, this could have been a deal breaker.

"Well," he said, "I'm not going to argue about $5."

I thought he was conceding, and I had won the argument. So I took the job. But when I got my first paycheck, it came short of my expectations—$5 short. Every agreement has its checks and balances, and this check was what counted toward my bank balance.

Since then I've taken many other jobs. I've sat in on union contract talks. I've drafted vendor contracts. I've discussed community agreements with local businesses. Till I see a John Hancock, I'm never sure whether something has been agreed, or only promised.

Not throwing away my shot

In my neighborhood, it's the alderman's prerogative to insist that a liquor license include a community agreement. A storefront grocery has been selling beer and wine under such a contract. Our neighborhood association insisted on a limit on liquor sales, and worked out a plan of operation with the owner. A convenience store that sells liquor can be handy, but a liquor store that sells convenience items is usually a handful.

Three years on, so far so good. The owner wanted to renegotiate, so he could sell hard liquor as well. His lawyer sent over his original draft from three years ago. As happens with volunteers, not everyone knew that where we started then was not where we ended. Fortunately, these negotiations become agreements not with a neighborhood group, but with the city. The liquor commission had a copy on file, and it had a significant difference. He had proposed a ceiling for liquor of 40% of sales. His signed agreement set a limit of 30%.

Pro tip to all who sign contracts: Insist on getting a signed copy back. Everyone was comfortable working from the agreed limits—which surprised me, because they really hadn't been tested. In Chicago, the plan of operation has a track record of success with troubled taverns in danger of losing their license, but it's novel to apply to grocers just getting started in package goods. Fortunately, both parties could get behind specific, measurable documentation.

The beer and wine section had grown floor to ceiling along one side wall. Our agreement with the shop owner made sure the point-of-sale system could register how much of their sales came from booze, but nothing short of a city investigation actually required running a sales report. Was there an approach that would save neighbors from filing complaints and the owner from defending against them? A simple solution was just to state how much floor space would get carved out for liquor, and to set minimums on size and price. So a deal was struck. As Peter Drucker wrote, what gets measured gets managed.

The Monty Hall problem

When I was first contracting for web development, a lawyer helped me think about contracts as a roadmap for a smooth engagement, and a rescue plan for a project gone south. If I expected software to meet my expectations, I'd need to spell out how it should work, who would work out the bugs, and when I'd pay for it. Otherwise, I'd be stuck with whatever was behind Door #1. If we can't agree on deliverables, we aren't ready to deal.

This approach worked for meetings as well. A meeting that doesn't start with an agenda will end only when participants have had enough, and vote with their feet. When I get on a conference call, I ask what we're going to cover. If I call the meeting. I send talking points. After the meeting. I follow up with minutes, a summary or a next-steps email. It gets things done.

Maybe as a writer I'm giving documentation more than its due. I believe that mapping out your goals gets you a good distance toward reaching them. Still, if decision makers aren't engaged, contract language can be more hindrance than help. In one community negotiation, both sides came armed with their own drafts. We seemed to cover a lot of ground face to face, and narrowed our differences. Yet the contract language didn't budge.

Which brings me back to taking a new job. One piece of advice I got from career coach Tom Payne is that when you have a job offer in hand, don't be in a hurry to accept. That's when you have the most leverage on terms. You're the first choice. The also-rans are moving on. Hiring takes a long time, and the employer doesn't want to restart the interview process.

While that makes sense, in my experience momentum works both ways. When the offer is in hand there's room for last-minute leverage, but the issues have to be very clear-cut. Finally, it's time to sign.