Written
by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha
Effective
leaders negotiate win/win agreements whenever possible; follow through on their
commitments, whatever the cost. John Maxwell
Value
is whatever brings positive additions to your life, enhances your brand and potentials
for wealth and success. This implies that your associations, your
knowledgebase, your assumed assets could be worthless if they have no value and
do not attract any value. Even dresses worn by certain people attract value.
Same goes for fashion accessories and even home accessories used by certain
people. Certain vintage cars also have
value as their prices increase with the times. This makes it imperative for
you, a creator of wealth to know and understand value so that you can always identify
value, always seek value and entertain value. That way, you will always look at
value. The Bible records in Genesis Chapter 13 verses 14 to 18 that Abraham
lifted up his eyes as instructed by the Lord and he saw Canaan, the land of
promise. Please see also Psalm 119 verse 37, verse 148 where David chose to
look at the word of God. Job on the other chose not to look at what would make
him lust after young women. Please see Job Chapter 31 verse 1.
Always negotiate
value. Esau and Rachel
had no negotiating skills which explain why they always negotiated bread and
not divine destinies. Their lack of self control over bread deprived them of
the ability to negotiate from a position of power. No matter how famished Esau
was, he should have exercised self control when he realized what Jacob aimed
for – a birthright in exchange for a pot of stew – that was enough wake up call
to stall negotiations. But Esau in addition to lacking self control had
absolutely no idea of who he was – the first born; and therefore did not know
his worth and value as well as that of the birthright. He therefore traded what
was of divine value and worth for temporary satisfaction. He repeated the same
absolute lack of value and worth in his second negotiations with Jacob. Rather
than refuse the gifts as well as insist on providing protection and security
for Jacob (these actions would have given Esau an edge over Jacob as they would
have kept Jacob in his place, in fear of Esau and never daring to be first
born), Esau capitulated to Jacob’s superior argument and became indebted to
Jacob. If only Esau knew his worth and value, that Jacob was afraid of him and
his men and that Jacob’s life depended on his generosity. But Esau had no idea
of who he was and his worth and his value. This infers that any negotiator
worth his or her salt should know his or her value and worth or the value and
worth of what s/he holds as bargaining chips. That sense of value and worth
will be a constant reminder not to trade in value and worth for temporary
relief or satisfaction. Also, a seasoned or skilled negotiator should always
exercise self control so as not to get carried away by the temporary relief
that may appear to be the solution in the heat of negotiations but is indeed no
solution as Esau learnt after trading in his birthright for a pot of stew and
as Rachel probably learnt after trading in her husband and her right of
intimacy with him that night for mandrakes.
Significantly, Leah conceived from that night’s
transaction and bore Jacob a fifth son. Beyond conceiving that night, Leah must
have wormed her way back into Jacob’s intimacy schedule as another son; Zebulun
quickly followed the birth of Issachar; and a daughter Dinah was born after
Zebulun. Rachel’s uncontrolled desire for mandrakes which she could have asked
Jacob to get for her at any time opened a floodgate of intimacy between Leah
and Jacob and three children were born in quick succession. What a skilled
negotiator Leah was. She did not even request for the intimacy. She only
accused her sister of taking over their husband and without thinking, Rachel
offered Jacob to Leah that night. Smart woman, Leah boldly went to meet Jacob
after he returned from the fields and told him that he had been hired to have
intimate relations with her that night. Leah negotiated divine destinies –
three children in quick succession after she had stopped bearing children.
Associate
with value; people who know and understand value. Abraham associated with God
and saw a ram when God asked him to look. Please see Genesis Chapter 22 verse
13. Hagar saw well of water when she looked. Please see Genesis Chapter 21
verse 19.
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