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Jobs's skill in negotiating was such that there was a standing order at Sun that no contract could be finalized with Apple, While Steve Jobs physically present

Jobs's skill in negotiating was such that there was a standing order at Sun that no contract could be finalized with Apple, While Steve Jobs physically present in the room. The objective was to allow his reality distortion field to dissipate, such that a more dispassionate assessment could be made. I'm wondering if that suggests that Steve didn't have a particularly good negotiating strategy, but simply a force of emotive presence. I guess that is actually a form of negotiating, but probably one that is difficult to teach others.

allenbrunson 10y ago
> Jobs's skill in negotiating was such that there was a standing order at Sun that no contract could be finalized with Apple, While Steve Jobs physically present in the room. wow. if true, that's the strongest evidence i've ever heard in favor of jobs' negotiating skills. have you got a source for that? not that i don't believe it, i'd just like to read more about it, in context.
- ghshephard 10y ago
  Here is one: https://books.google.com/books?id=m_B9vFa0H1AC&pg=PT34&lpg=PT34&dq=Sun+Contracts+signed+Steve+Jobs+Reality+Distortion&source=bl&ots=mdDFQq5SA4&sig=IkGE12Y0Pw8dqEfU-J6gtuppNrM&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiU9sSvpuTNAhVJKWMKHUB_AxMQ6AEIJjAB#v=onepage&q=Sun%20Contracts%20signed%20Steve%20Jobs%20Reality%20Distortion&f=false https://books.google.com/books?id=m_B9vFa0H1AC&pg=PT34&lpg=P...
  - allenbrunson 10y ago
    i just bought it. only four bucks for the kindle edition. here's a link, for anybody else who might be interested. https://www.amazon.com/Steve-Jobs-1955-2011-Bloomberg-Businessweek-ebook/dp/B006C68A1W https://www.amazon.com/Steve-Jobs-1955-2011-Bloomberg-Busine...
  - dredmorbius 10y ago
    Thanks, fantastic cite.
puranjay 10y ago
This makes me wonder what effect will having a celebrity CEO have on the negotiating table. Would you be as good at negotiating if you're dealing with Leonardo DiCaprio? Or would the 'halo effect' be too overwhelming?

allenbrunson 10y ago

> Jobs's skill in negotiating was such that there was a standing order at Sun that no contract could be finalized with Apple, While Steve Jobs physically present in the room. wow. if true, that's the strongest evidence i've ever heard in favor of jobs' negotiating skills. have you got a source for that? not that i don't believe it, i'd just like to read more about it, in context.

ghshephard 10y ago
Here is one: https://books.google.com/books?id=m_B9vFa0H1AC&pg=PT34&lpg=PT34&dq=Sun+Contracts+signed+Steve+Jobs+Reality+Distortion&source=bl&ots=mdDFQq5SA4&sig=IkGE12Y0Pw8dqEfU-J6gtuppNrM&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiU9sSvpuTNAhVJKWMKHUB_AxMQ6AEIJjAB#v=onepage&q=Sun%20Contracts%20signed%20Steve%20Jobs%20Reality%20Distortion&f=false https://books.google.com/books?id=m_B9vFa0H1AC&pg=PT34&lpg=P...
- allenbrunson 10y ago
  i just bought it. only four bucks for the kindle edition. here's a link, for anybody else who might be interested. https://www.amazon.com/Steve-Jobs-1955-2011-Bloomberg-Businessweek-ebook/dp/B006C68A1W https://www.amazon.com/Steve-Jobs-1955-2011-Bloomberg-Busine...
- dredmorbius 10y ago
  Thanks, fantastic cite.

puranjay 10y ago

This makes me wonder what effect will having a celebrity CEO have on the negotiating table. Would you be as good at negotiating if you're dealing with Leonardo DiCaprio? Or would the 'halo effect' be too overwhelming?