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> the first thing he does is verbally reject the deadline Verbally reject the offer or the deadline? Can you give us some examples? I understand that it is m

by bushido 12y ago

> the first thing he does is verbally reject the deadline Verbally reject the offer or the deadline? Can you give us some examples? I understand that it is most likely the deadline, but from the sounds of it the strategy should be a little more complex. Currently it sounds like: Someone: We would need an answer in 10 days? Your friend: I can't reply in 10 day. --- 12 days later --- Your friend: The answer is yes. Someone: We'll give you the money. The success rate of this exchange seems questionable.

jfoutz 12y ago
It puts the pressure back on Someone. Your friend has to do a bunch of stuff in 10 days to satisfy Someone. There's opportunity cost associated with that, and there's no guarantee of money yet. Just saying no relieves a lot of that pressure. Someone has to decide if they're really interested. If you get No right away, you've saved yourself 10 days of pointless work. If they accept the new timeline, they're probably more interested than you realized. It's kind of like poker. If you're not sure enough to make a tough decision, you can always make somebody else make a tough decision instead. edit Assuming no information about Someone, they're level of interest X might be .01, or .99 - they have at least a little interest, because they're meeting you. Making a demand lets you calibrate your understanding of X a little bit. Outright rejection indicates X was really low to begin with. Maybe they have some regulatory constraint, and the date is a huge hassle to change. Well, X is less than that cost of change. In that case, they'd tell you. In the OK, state, you you're likely better than .01, but you don't get a ton of information about how much better. If they explain why the timeline is they way it is, it's Y effort to change those dates, you can adjust X to the new level proportional to how much extra work you've made them do by missing the deadline. - They're at least that interested.
- bushido 12y ago
  Good explanation. I understand and agree with letting somebody else make a tough decision. I was a little concerned with the OP's explanation as OP made it (almost) sound like a one size fits all strategy.
- pmarca 12y ago
  All correct. High quality investors and hiring managers don't make offers to people they're not highly interested in. Odds are much higher that interest is close to 0.99 than 0.1.

by bushido 12y ago

jfoutz 12y ago

It puts the pressure back on Someone. Your friend has to do a bunch of stuff in 10 days to satisfy Someone. There's opportunity cost associated with that, and there's no guarantee of money yet. Just saying no relieves a lot of that pressure. Someone has to decide if they're really interested. If you get No right away, you've saved yourself 10 days of pointless work. If they accept the new timeline, they're probably more interested than you realized. It's kind of like poker. If you're not sure enough to make a tough decision, you can always make somebody else make a tough decision instead. edit Assuming no information about Someone, they're level of interest X might be .01, or .99 - they have at least a little interest, because they're meeting you. Making a demand lets you calibrate your understanding of X a little bit. Outright rejection indicates X was really low to begin with. Maybe they have some regulatory constraint, and the date is a huge hassle to change. Well, X is less than that cost of change. In that case, they'd tell you. In the OK, state, you you're likely better than .01, but you don't get a ton of information about how much better. If they explain why the timeline is they way it is, it's Y effort to change those dates, you can adjust X to the new level proportional to how much extra work you've made them do by missing the deadline. - They're at least that interested.

bushido 12y ago
Good explanation. I understand and agree with letting somebody else make a tough decision. I was a little concerned with the OP's explanation as OP made it (almost) sound like a one size fits all strategy.
pmarca 12y ago
All correct. High quality investors and hiring managers don't make offers to people they're not highly interested in. Odds are much higher that interest is close to 0.99 than 0.1.