Business Negotiation

More than 30 year of experience in global business has given me numerous opportunities of business negotiation, especially those with European and US businessperson . Here are some distinct difference in style of negotiation from that of our fellow Japanese.

1) Physical strength; for negotiation on “big deal” it is no surprise that talks last throughout the day. Kicking off at 0900, now the clock is hitting almost 1800, but our counterpart still impassionedly argues about points that has not yet come to consensus. We are feeling quite exhausted, but we cannot lose the game. It is a battle not only of logic but also of physical strength. Physical toughness plays important role in almost all the business negotiation.

2) But sometimes they miss the point in unconstructive manner. In such case what crucially important here is to stay consistent with mainstream with cool head, but point out precisely what are unacceptable. Never lose temper, because it is not only impolite but wastes your energy.

3) Make decision on premise: this is the most serious weakness of Japanese businessperson. Every time you respond “we will check that with our HQ in Tokyo…” , you are retarding the entire discussion progress, and worse, you may become disadvantageous in negotiation. It is imperative to delegate sufficient authority to the person who attend the negotiation beforehand.

4) “No-side” spirit: the day-long heated negotiation closed successively. It is already 1830, and our counter-partners invited us to a dinner. Though we feel quite worn out, they chat, eat and drink cheerfully and energetically. But we don’t want to be seen as frail. We also try to speak, eat, and drink a lot. Oh, what a long day...

Dinner after a business negotiation in Brussels: mussels