Perils of a Time Limit
When one's budget (time x energy x money x emotion) is being run up by an unscrupulous adversary, how do you reverse the process? The following brief report may be helpful.
A few years ago, a Japanese designer delayed in paying a West Cost architectural firm a fee amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Negotiations had proceeded for over a year and the American president had bled his time, energy, money, and emotion, all to no avail.
Given his predicament, the president decided to form a team and begin to learn some of the principles and tactics in this software program. Soon after the opponent committed a serious blunder. She set a time limit, which revealed a serious emotional weakness, her impatience over time. The Japanese designer wanted the American architects to participate in a new, ambitious project, despite her outstanding obligation, which "would be handled later." "If you do not agree to work with us in Japan," the American architects were told, "we Japanese will think you are unreliable (a false assumption)."
The president did not reply. Particularly in Japan, silence can speak more loudly than words. Days passed. More messages from Japan. More silence.
About two weeks later the president received this message, "I will come to San Francisco this weekend to meet with you on Monday." He faxed back to her that a meeting on Monday would not be convenient.
The Japanese designer disregarded his fax, got on a plane and came anyway. On Monday morning at 9:00 a.m. she telephoned and told his secretary, "I am at the Nikko Hotel and must see Mr. _____________."
The president notified his secretary to apologize to the designer and tell her that he could not meet with her today, perhaps tomorrow. By this time he was getting somewhat uncomfortable as he was not used to being that much in control.
He did in fact meet with her on Monday, in his offices after keeping her waiting a decent period of time. A satisfactory settlement was reached in which the Japanese designer almost pleaded with the president to accept her money.
Who had control of the budget?
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