All day, every day, we are in the midst of negotiations — whether we know it or not.
As IT Professionals, we are no different.
Some tips on improving your negotiating skills.
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In IT, we have our own unique set of negotiation partners: vendors, co-workers, employees, and employers.
With so much time spent in negotiation, it is well worth our time to learn the principles behind negotiation, and how to become better negotiators.
Here are a few tips.
Separate People from the Problem
At the beginning of each negotiation, remind yourself that these are real people you are negotiating with.
They are not much different from you. They deserve your respect and empathy, the same as you deserve theirs.
Put Yourself in Their Shoes
You have your goals for the negotiation, so does the other party.
Take time to clearly understand not only WHAT they are trying to achieve, but WHY they are trying to achieve it.
Don’t Deduce Their Intentions From Your Fears
The intentions of the other party depend on the prism from which they are viewed. If you are fearful of what might happen, then you are viewing negotiations with the eyes of fear.
Anticipate the Potential for Conflict
Some negotiations are quick and painless.
Other negotiations run at a deeper level with higher stakes, and conflict may arise. The goal of a negotiation cannot be to eliminate conflict. Conflict is an inevitable -and useful-part of life.
Be Prepared to Walk Away
In any negotiation, you must put yourself in a position where you can walk away if you are not satisfied with a proposed agreement, or if the other party gives you a “take it or leave it” offer you prefer to leave.
Take The High Road
In the end your integrity is more important than winning a negotiation (except in the most desperate of cases).
Keep the Golden Rule in mind as you negotiate:
“Negotiate with others as you would have them negotiate unto you.”
This thread was inspired by the excellent book: Getting to Yes, by Roger Fisher and William Ury.
Read my entire blog post "The Art of Negotiating for IT Professionals" here:
Rome's 1st Emperor, he famously found Rome a city of brick and left it a city of marble.
Here’s the story of Gaius Octavius, better known as Augustus, and how he reshaped Roman history.
A Roman History 🧵
Name: Gaius Octavius → Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus → Augustus
Lifespan: 63 BC – AD 14
Reign: 27 BC – AD 14
Came to power: After Julius Caesar’s assassination, defeating rivals in a brutal civil war
The Early Years
Gaius Octavious (better known as Octavian) was born in the Palantine Hill district into a wealthy but not especially powerful family on September 23, 63 BC.
His mother was Atia Balba Caesonia; Julius Caesar's niece, giving Octavian a blood tie to Caesar.
The proscription of Cicero was one of the most tragic events of the late Roman Republic.
Why was Cicero, a former Consul and respected member of Roman politics, selected to be proscribed?
Let's do a deep dive into the proscription of Cicero.
/A Roman History Thread 🏛️🧵
Let's set the table of the people and events that led to the proscription of Cicero.
The year is 43 BC. In a tumultuous series of events following the assassination of Caesar, Mark Antony, Lepidus, and Octavian (later known as Augustus) have formed an alliance to advance their political agendas.
Each Triumvirate member has absolute powers in different territories of the empire.
The alliance is destined to be short-lived as each has their own designs to win the power struggle and establish themselves as the top man in Rome.
The Late Roman Republic was, pound for pound, the most fascinating period of Roman History.
No other time in long history of Rome had such a high density of impressive and captivating individuals.
Let's explore the incredible figures from the Late Roman Republic. /🏛️🧵
For purposes of this thread, we will look at the people involved in the events starting with Caesar crossing the Rubicon in 49 BC and ending with the battle of Actium in 31 BC.
This period has the highest density of of fascinating people in the late Roman Republic.
The People of the Late Roman Republic
This period is literally a "who's who" of famous people. The history books are filled with their names, countless books are written about them, and they spark our imagination with the might and majesty of Roman History.
• Julius Caesar
• Pompey the Great
• Cicero
• Mark Antony
• Brutus
• Cato the Younger
• Cleopatra
• Octavian
The years 96 AD to 180 AD were the best in all of Roman History.
During this glorious era, five men ruled Rome to unprecedented heights of prosperity.
Let's journey back to the height of the Pax Romana and explore The 5 Good Emperors of Rome /🏛️🧵
Who Were the 5 Good Emperors of Rome?
The reign of the Five Good Emperors of Romespanned 84 years from 96 to 180 AD. Here are the emperors and their respective reigns:
• Nerva (96–98 AD) – 2 years
• Trajan (98–117 AD) – 19 years
• Hadrian (117–138 AD) – 21 years
• Antoninus Pius (138–161 AD) – 23 years
• Marcus Aurelius (161–180 AD) – 19 years
These were five emperors who made up the lion's share of the Nerva-Antonine Dynasty, along with Luciius Verus (Marcus Aurelius' brother by adoption) and Commodus (Marcus Aurelius's son)
But not for the 5 Good Emperors.Jd Emperors?
These Emperors were known for their just and effective governance. Things were good in the Roman Empire and it expanded to its greatest territorial extent under Trajan in 117 AD.
These 5 Emperors represented a very unique time in Roman History. It was a period of peaceful transition of power, a very rare thing in the Roman Empire.
Violence was the norm as one Emperor's reign ended and another's began. Murder, assassination, poisoning...you name it. The transition of power in the Roman Empire was typically bloody and brutal.
But not for the 5 Good Emperors.
Just look at the Wikipedia page. It's the only instance you will find of five Roman Emperors in a row dying of natural causes.