Love Affairs in Melbourne-Chapter 142 - 139: Tough Negotiation Opponent (@Top Mo Fan)
Chapter 142: Chapter 139: Tough Negotiation Opponent (@Top Mo Fan)
"Future Boss" Yan Ling and "Semi-Boss" Qin Shaohua inevitably found themselves deep in conflict.
Yan Ling was not autocratic by nature, nor did she feel that being the future boss justified bullying others. Currently, however, she ended up being the one bullied.
Qin Shaohua had a history of bickering with department managers at Yanlu Shoe Machine, and now, he frequently argued with Yan Ling.
The straightforward Qin Shaohua was good-looking and talented, and his ability sometimes led him to a rather arrogant attitude.
He was the type to not even yield to his girlfriend unconditionally.
In fact, Qin Shaohua had no intention of disrespecting his boss. He was simply someone who would contend vigorously for his ideas.
Initially, Yan Ling thought that her biggest challenge in reforming the company would come from all those "aunties and uncles". She hadn’t anticipated Qin Shaohua, who managed the foreign trade department well, to be her largest obstacle.
The foreign trade department was always considered by Yan Ling as the only modernized part of the company without any resistance to reform.
Yet now, it became a department outright unwilling to accept any change, or rather, Qin Shaohua never really considered proper communication with Yan Ling.
The first task Yan Ling wanted to tackle in her reforms was industrial upgrading.
Qin Shaohua was convinced that Yan Ling would refuse labor-intensive OEM orders, something that General Manager Yan Dingbang had discussed with him several times.
When Yan Ling approached Qin Shaohua to discuss her reform ideas, before she could even speak, Qin Shaohua shot back.
"You say no and then just no? Are you expecting the workers to starve?" Qin Shaohua opened with a well-reasoned, confident argument.
"In recent years, most of the company’s foreign trade orders have been secured by you, so you must be clearly aware that domestic labor recruitment is becoming more difficult and wages are increasing. Continuing with OEM orders means labor costs will rise, not any less than the profits.
No matter how many orders we take on, we’d only reach the Break Even Point," after a pause, Yan Ling remembered the Chinese term for BEP.
Yan Ling hadn’t intended to express it this way—it’s just that her exposure to these concepts had always been in English, so it took a moment to find the right words in Chinese.
But this first sentence from Yan Ling immediately made Qin Shaohua uncomfortable.
"There’s no need to explain in English after each sentence. Either speak directly in Chinese or don’t translate at all. Are you afraid I won’t understand?" The tone of Qin Shaohua’s remarks was especially acerbic.
"My aim is to find the most effective way to communicate. I am convinced that since you are in charge of every aspect of the foreign trade department, your English must be very good." The best class Yan Ling took at Wharton was on negotiation.
Speaking of negotiation, the first tactic that might come to mind for most people would be the concept of "win-win".
But negotiation classes at Wharton Business School never emphasized the worn-out concept of win-win.
Maybe with some careful thought, the reason behind this could become clearer.
Those who hear "win-win" often are unsure of what exactly they’ll gain.
Conversely, those who speak of "win-win" definitely know what they’re about to get.
So if win-win is heard too often, it ultimately leads people to question: What does the person saying "win-win" really want to gain from me? What will they win?
At Wharton Business School, the negotiation class emphasized how to get more.
In that pursuit, sometimes a lose-lose scenario can be the best outcome of a negotiation.
Yan Ling had numerous ways to communicate with Qin Shaohua. She herself was not particularly mild-mannered, which was evident since she was fond of brawling with others as a child.
However, when facing a stubborn negotiation opponent, going head-to-head was definitely not a good approach. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
More importantly, Yan Ling had no desire to fire Qin Shaohua, as she currently didn’t have a better candidate for the head of the foreign trade department.
Additionally, if the company resorted to firing people at the slightest hint of resistance during restructuring, who knows how many would remain at Lingyan Shoe Industry in the end?
While at McKinsey, Yan Ling provided management consulting to world-class corporations.
For instance, how to improve the efficiency of an international airport’s operations or what route planning could reduce passengers’ complaints about baggage claim delays.
Another example was how to design incentive programs to retain top talents for multinational companies.
Retaining talent was also an important part of Yan Ling’s previous work.
Compared to the corporations Yan Ling consulted for, Lingyan Shoe Industry could only be considered minor.
Yan Ling was a consultant who analyzed managerial issues for multinational corporations and offered solutions.
She received her MBA from the top-ranked Wharton Business School, and worked at the top management consulting firm, McKinsey. Yan Ling wasn’t inexperienced in management.
The fact was, Yan Ling coming to manage Lingyan Shoe Industry was a "step down".
Previously, Yan Ling had solved problems from an observer’s perspective that the managers themselves couldn’t see.
This was Yan Ling’s first experience of feeling out of her element within her own family’s business.
"What’s there to communicate? You’re just talking, right? Why make it sound so complicated. Whether it’s fitting or not, just say what you want to say," Qin Shaohua continued with his indifferent attitude.
As a "Semi-Boss", Qin Shaohua wasn’t concerned about being fired by Yan Ling.
Even if he was indeed fired, with his ability, he could find a better job in no time.
"Then I’ll just ask you directly, if we were to create our own luxury leather shoe brand, with a unit price above a thousand dollars, do you have the confidence to sell these shoes?" Yan Ling tried a different approach.
Whether it was OEM or ODM, accepting any foreign trade processing orders was a routine, non-challenging task for Qin Shaohua.
Qin Shaohua had no intention of conforming to Yan Ling’s management from the start.
When it came to business regarding the shoe factory’s foreign trade, it was Yan Ling’s place to seek advice from him, not the other way around.
Qin Shaohua, with his unreserved nature, was typically intrigued by challenges.
To others, securing a high-priced OEM order may already seem challenging, but Qin Shaohua was well-acquainted with the quality of shoes produced by Lingyan Shoe Industry.
He accepted orders only that demanded quality.
When companies seeking OEM couldn’t find another factory that met their standards, the pricing power might not entirely lie with the client.
