Negotiations - Dr. Raj Basu, Oklahoma State University

What is your name? My name is Raj Basu, I'm a faculty member in the management department in the Spears School of Business and I've been a member of the department since 1991. Alright, now walk me through your career with Spears so far. So I started at Spears in 1991, I was in the Stillwater campus from 1991 to 1996 and then from 1996 to 1999 I was director of the MBA program. I moved to the Tulsa campus in 2001 as the vice president for academic affairs and I did that from 2001 until 2016, when I went back to faculty, and I teach mostly undergraduate and MBA classes.

So when you teach, what classes do you teach? So my favorite class is on negotiations. Okay. Here's what I tell everybody who takes that class, the three things they've got to remember, right? The first one is, don't be afraid to ask. You may not get what you want just because you asked, but you're definitely not going to get unless you asked. So the first rule of negotiation is ask! The second rule of negotiation is, know when to walk away. So if you know beforehand, if you decide beforehand, at what point you're going to walk away, you're less likely to make a decision that is driven by emotions, and more likely to make a data-driven decision. The third thing I'm going to say to everybody who takes negotiations class is, that people do things for people they like, right? So be nice, be cordial, be friendly, when you're asking for whatever it is you're asking for.

So for instance a job negotiation, if you're asking for a salary increase, right? Or if you're asking for a higher salary, keep this in mind, people, including companies, give you what you want for two reasons. One is because they think that you deserve it, and the second one is because they like you. So they've already decided you deserve it, because that's why they made you an offer! So, you they've talked to a lot of different employees, they've talked to potential employees and they've decided you're the best person for the job. They already believe you deserve it, now the likelihood they'll give you something is, because if they like you more they're more likely to give it to you.

So be nice, be cordial, be friendly, when you ask for whatever it is you're asking for. So when you're asking, what do you think are some tips in that process? So here are sort of three or four things I would tell everybody. The first is look good, so dress up and be sharp. The second is, look people in the eye, smile, have a good handshake, and then just don't be afraid to ask. Have the confidence? Have the confidence to do it, yeah! Alright, thank you so much. You're welcome, my pleasure.