Meeting with Stan Christensen

Stan Christensen is the managing director of Arbour Advisors.

« Getting to yes » is the main book on negotiation that Stan recommends.

The students of the master “Innover et entreprendre” from ESCP have been received in his office. Stan gave us a lecture about negotiation.

Here are the key points of the talk:

 

How to direct a successful negotiation?

1/ Use objective criteria, outside standards that are objective and fair

2/ Forget about negotiation tactics (doesn’t work for long term relationships)

3/Never bluff unless you know how to deal with the consequence of the bluff

4/ Treat the other party fairly, people will always remember your behavior towards them

5/ Be fair, that will give you a good reputation, lead to a good relationship with the other party, which is the best for long term relationships and your personal brand

6/ Always know what is the alternative, brainstorm the options together with the over party

7/ In order to meet both sides interests, understand what are the other party’s interests (since they may care about different things that you do)

 

Stan’s best advices for successful managers are:

1/ Be aware of your weaknesses

2/ Do not be afraid to hire better people than you

3/ Be super open (transparency about salaries for example could be a good thing)

4/ Never lie about anything

5/ Always get things done. Identifying the problem is not enough; people have to come up with solutions to solve the problems.

 

This talk was the first talk the student of the master “Innover et Entreprendre” (MSIE) from ESCP received during their study trip in the Silicon Valley. They have all been impressed by the energy Stan was generating when he was giving his lecture.

Guy Kawasaki : His Real Story

I was born in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1954. My family lived in a tough part of Honolulu called Kalihi Valley. We weren’t rich, but I never felt poor-because my mother and father made many sacrifices for my sister and me. My mother was a housewife, and my father was, at various times, a fireman, real estate broker, state senator, and government official.

I attended Iolani School where I graduated in 1972. Iolani is not as well known as its rival, Punahou, but I got a fantastic and formative education there. After Iolani, I matriculated to Stanford University where I graduated in 1976. My major was psychology-which was the easiest major I could find.

After Stanford, I attended the law school at UC Davis because, like all Asian American parents, my folks wanted me to be a “doctor, lawyer, or dentist.” I only lasted one week because I couldn’t deal with the law school teachers telling me that I was crap and that they were going to remake me.

The following year I entered the MBA program at UCLA. I liked this curriculum much better. While there, I worked for a fine-jewelry manufacturer called Nova Stylings; my first real job was literally counting diamonds. From Nova, its CEO Marty Gruber, and my Jewish colleagues in the jewelry business, I learned how to sell. The jewelry business is the toughest business I’ve encountered.

I remained at Nova for a few years until the computer bug bit me. The Apple II removed the scales from my eyes, so I went to work for an educational software company called EduWare Services. However, Peachtree Software acquired the company and wanted me to move to Atlanta. “I don’t think so.” I can’t live in a city where people call sushi “bait.”

Luckily, my Stanford roommate, Mike Boich, got me a job at Apple. When I saw what a Macintosh could do, the clouds parted and the angels started singing. For four years I evangelized Macintosh to software and hardware developers and led the charge against world-wide domination by IBM. I also met my wife Beth at Apple during this timeframe-Apple has been very good to me.

Around 1987, my job with Apple was done. Macintosh had plenty of software by then, so I left to start a Macintosh database company called ACIUS. It published a product called 4th Dimension. I did this for two years and then left to pursue my bliss of writing, speaking, and consulting.

Later, I started another software company called Fog City Software with three of the best people in the world: Will Mayall, Kathryn Henkens, and Jud Spencer. We created an email product called Emailer that we sold to Claris and then a list server product called LetterRip.

In 1995 I returned to Apple as an Apple fellow. At the time, according to the pundits, Apple was supposed to die again. (Apple should have died about ten times in the past twenty years according to the pundits.) My job on this tour of duty was to maintain and rejuvenate the Macintosh cult.

A couple years later, I left Apple to start Garage with Craig Johnson of Venture Law Group and Rich Karlgaard of Forbes. Version 1.0 of Garage was to provide matchmaking services for angel investors and entrepreneurs. We upgraded to version 2.0 which was an investment bank for helping entrepreneurs raise money from venture capitalists. Today, version 3.0 is focused on being a venture capital firm and making direct investments in early-stage technology companies.

This brings me up to date. Currently, I’m a managing director at Garage as well as an author and speaker. I’ve written eight books and have four children. My latest book is The Art of the Start-the Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything. It reflects my experience as an evangelist, entrepreneur, investment banker, and venture capitalist.

Guy Kawasaki - Official Bio

Guy Kawasaki is a managing director of Garage Technology Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm and a columnist for Entrepreneur Magazine. Previously, he was an Apple Fellow at Apple Computer, Inc.

Guy is the author of eight books including The Art of the Start, Rules for Revolutionaries, How to Drive Your Competition Crazy, Selling the Dream, and The Macintosh Way.

He has a BA from Stanford University and an MBA from UCLA as well as an honorary doctorate from Babson College.

Extract from: http://www.guykawasaki.com/about/index.shtml