Donald Trump, Jr. has always impressed me as someone who could negotiate, make the big deals. Just like his father before him, our president, author of ‘Let’s Make a Deal’ ..or ‘The Art of the Deal’, I forget which. Either way, the acorn doesn’t fall too far from the tree and the legendary Trump negotiating skills must be inherent.
Donald Trump, Sr., the President’s father, Don, Jr’s grandfather, Frederick Christ Trump (yes, that’s his middle name), was renown for his ability to negotiate a deal. Rumor has it that, during World War II, he was able to negotiate a deal for a gift shop at the Auschwitz prison camp that included apartments on the second floor. Apparently, it’s how he got his start in the real estate business, which he passed down to his son, our current president. I don’t believe this is true, especially, about the gift shop, someone must have been joking in bad taste about that, but Fred was known as a man who could crawl across cut glass to make a deal.
So, what skills must a master negotiator have in order to bring home the bacon? What inherent or learned genius must he possess to create an atmosphere of trust and confidence to successfully negotiate toward a win-win conclusion? Often the ‘win-win‘ means a one-sided win. But, so be it. The idea is to win. And as our esteemed president once said, actually said many times, ‘We are going to win so much that we are going to get sick of winning‘. I guess he’s a ‘winner’. Guy likes to win.
Hey, winning is the name of the game. As vulgar as it may sound to some, it’s the way it is. Even the Beatles said in their famous ‘Live and Let Die‘ theme song from the James Bond movie of the same name, “...When you got a job to do you got to do it well / You got to give the other fella hell ...”
Here’s what it takes to be a master negotiator ...and Donald Trump, Jr. knows this well. In a minute here we will witness firsthand how Don Jr. would handle a serious negotiation. Bear with me ...it’s a scene from the film, ‘Die Hard’ ...you probably know the scene I’m talking about.
First, and most important, a master negotiator must look honest, have an open, honest face and overall demeanor. Probably no beard or facial hair to hide behind. But it may work for some. Christ had a beard, so there you go. Body language, grooming, and attitude must be impeccable going in to stand the test of immediate scrutiny by the competition. They must not be able to detect any chink in your armor. You must ‘look‘ believable.
Second, a master negotiator must know where he is ‘on the court‘ ...that is, know your competitor and what he is thinking. Know his advantages and disadvantages. Know his options, his moves and countermoves. Know what you can afford to give away and be able to disguise it, sell it, as valuable to the competitor. It’s like Chess. Be able to see many moves ahead and all the variables. And be ready to make your move when the opportunity presents itself, immediately anticipating and recognizing the opportunity ...usually after an anticipated mistake is made by the competitor.
Third, a master negotiator must exude confidence. This can occur in several ways. Glib, humorous, devil-may-care confidence which works for some in certain cases. Or poker-face confidence, stone face, stoic confidence. Either one could help to throw the competitor off his game. Rattle him. Sometimes opposites work. A disheveled, unkempt look and attitude could work to either reveal or hide your secrets, same goes for a buttoned-up, three-piece suit look. It all depends on your game plan going in, which is dependent upon your preparedness and ability to correctly judge your opponent, get a bead on him, and know how to play him regarding where you are ‘on the court’.
To me, Donald Trump Jr., may just have all these outlined attributes of the master negotiator, both learned and inherent from his ancestors. In fact, he reminds me of the famous negotiator, Harry Ellis, in the film classic, ‘Die Hard’. He looks just like him, a dead ringer in fact, and he seemingly displays the same basic attitude.
Here’s the scene from that movie. Negotiator Harry Ellis, is played by actor Hart Bochner, and terrorist Hans Gruber, is played by Alan Rickman. A classic scene and a classic lesson in the art of negotiation ...
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=edie+hard+movie+clip+%2322+hrry+ellis
If you haven’t seen the film and are wondering about the outcome of that negotiation, well, see the film, but here’s a hint ...it’s in the movie title.
...and, here’s a tip for Don, Jr. ...when negotiating, maybe lose the beard ..or something.
John Kushma is a communication consultant and lives in Logan, Utah
https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-george-kushma-379a5762
http://newsbout.com/a/John+Kushma
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