3 ms·

Jesus. For starters don't call dealing with your stakeholders "bootlicking."

• aleph_minus_one 2y ago
  > For starters don't call dealing with your stakeholders "bootlicking." What is it then?
  • ethbr1 2y ago
    Pragmatism.
    • b112 2y ago
      Indeed. You're not bootlicking or kowtowing, to simply meet as equal partners and determine what both sides need, want. The best deals, I find, are where "everyone wins". This is entirely achievable, as both parties have different goals. What has value to one, may be meaningless to another. I've brokered deals where I gave nothing I cared about, yet that same point was of immense value to the other party. Yet when you simply wave away the other's requests, that's madness. In the example given, what is the cost for Google sharing data from maps? Almost nothing. It has value, but the cost of cloning that data is absolutely minimal. The legal agreements and NDAs for that data are more expensive than any other aspect of the agreement. And if that data has no value to the client, but they think they want it, even better! Now you're giving them something they don't really need, that you don't have a cost in giving, and it's now a bargaining chip with an innate value! Beautiful, absolutely beautiful! I can even picture a scenario a month or two down the line. The client is baffled a bit by the API, what they receive. Now you consult for them, in an additional arrangement, and provide better integration, etc. Instead of shutting them down (you wouldn't know what to do with it), you sell it to them as they wish, then teach them what to do with it! What an awesome business opportunity! And of course during that arrangement, you may fine more revenue streams. And ones that, indeed, help the client even more! Never shutdown a client like that. Of course, the story could be exaggerated, or mistold.