In life, you never get what you deserve... only what you negotiate...

how many times have you bought a book from a platform shop for half the price quoted by the shopkeeper and felt happy for some time... only to be shattered by the remark of a friend that he bought the same book from the same shopkeeper for much less...

once on a visit to palika bazaar, i chanced to see the book that i had been wanting to buy for so long... price quoted - 250/- ... now was that a random number that came to the guy's mind or was it really worth it (pirated of course) - it was anybody's guess... still anyways, i have been in delhi long enough to chuck my benevolence and i was planning to do my mba... so i decided to put my negotiation skills to test... and voila i got it for 60/-... a 10 rupees increase from my initial quoted price... then the shopkeeper gave me these final parting words "though i am selling it off at a loss to you, i will make it up with someone else"... that made my day...

to reality - the nego skills prof gave the above statement "In life, you never get what you deserve... only what you negotiate..." on the last day of the lecture and the incident was among the first things i remembered immediately...

the frequent blackmail letters (also known as resignation letters) that are used by people to screw their manager's happiness and spend their vacation on company's expense abroad... man do the silent observers, who don't have the nerve to negotiate hate you for all the privileges that you receive... the bone of contention here is not the company's wish to retain you because you are irreplacable, but the way you adopted to get what you wanted...

how many restaurants have you frequented and how many times have you asked for a discount flashing your company / college id cards... is it because you cannot pay that measly 10% when you can pay the 90% ? or is it the mental satisfaction that the restaurant manager respects you as a customer who can bring in more people... whether he gives you the discount grudgingly or beneath a false smile, a discount is a discount is a discount... :)

right from a measly meal discount to your salaries, you only get what you want if you ask for it... people who evaluate you are both dumb and stingy... you need to give them an easier job of identifying your qualities for which they should pay you, and then make them pay for it...

man i am capable of doing it and i deserved it, but i have to fight for it...