Steven Zolman

Apr. 19,2010

Strategy 3: Issue Token Gifts Optimize persuasiveness Low-cost token gifts. Agree to meet at time or location that’s more convenient for the Supplier Arrive at talks with coffee to share with your counterparts Concede First. Open the dialogue and begin substantive discussions by agreeing to a small request made by the other side Communicate Effectively. Your counterpart is more likely to feel compelled to reciprocate in substantive ways if you make your concessions salient Make sure they know you agreed to meet in their preferred location despite the inconvenience for you NET(net)’s Website/Blogs/Articles and other content is subject to ...

Steven Zolman

Apr. 13,2010

Relationship based persuasion is usually strategically intended to win others over, not to defeat them. Thus it is very important to be able to see the topic from different angles in order to anticipate the reaction of others to a proposal. To be successful in this pursuit, we recommend the following 4 steps: Step 1: Survey your situation. This step includes an analysis of the situation of the persuader, his goals and the challenges he faces in his organization. Step 2: Confront the five barriers. There are five obstacles that pose the greatest risks to a successful influence encounter: relationships, credibility, communication mismatches, ...

Steven Zolman

Mar. 31,2010

Negotiation has been referred to by some as "The Art of Letting Them Have Your Way". Many clients fancy themselves as excellent negotiators. Persuasion, however, is a different skill. Persuasion is a form of social influence. If Negotiation is the art of letting them have your way, persuasion is the process of guiding your counter-party towards the adoption of your idea, attitude, or position by rational and symbolic (though not always logical) measures. Relationship based persuasion is usually strategically intended to win others over, not to defeat them. Thus it is very important to be able to see the topic from different angles in order ...

Steven Zolman

Mar. 26,2010

Dates are still a bit uncertain, but expect Microsoft price increases to apply to the May price list, effective May 12. We expect Microsoft Office to increase by 5% Not on the list below, we expect System Center July 1st, to increase by 30% Note also, “Core CAL” and “Enterprise CAL” will also be increasing since their underlying components are increasing Client guidance: get started early (no later than early April - and engage NET(net) to help you consider all your options. There will be considerable market pressure brought to bear by Microsoft to get their customers to 'renew early to avoid the May price increases'. We have an easy answer ...

Steven Zolman

Feb. 23,2010

After a five-year struggle in US Federal District Court, Robert Jacobson recently prevailed in his copyright infringement claim against Matthew Katzer as a result of Katzer's alleged misappropriation of open source code from Jacobson's Java Model Railroad Interface project. You can read all of the story in more detail at ConsortiumInfo.org. The end result is a huge win for open source developers as a result of three key findings by the District Court: Violation of an open source software license constitutes copyright infringement, not just breach of contract (this was first upheld by the Federal Appeals Court in 2008 in this case). Use of ...

Steven Zolman

Feb. 4,2010

With all the Technology Titans beating street estimates lately, IT Spending is seemingly on the mend, and my 401k is no longer looking like a mere shadow of its former self. With all the good news, why do I have this nagging suspicion in my mind? Why am I worried about the sustainability of clients' investments in technology to improve efficiencies, promote collaboration and foster innovation? Sustainability can only be achieved when a deal is balanced with the needs of the Client, the needs of the supplier and is reflective of the market conditions. To achieve optimization, the sustainable deal cannot be altered in a way to improve the ...

Steven Zolman

Jan. 26,2010

There are some common misconceptions about the meaning and impact of the various lifecycle phases. Microsoft publishes a complete list of its products and support lifecyle dates here: http://support.microsoft.com/gp/lifeselect NET(net) advises Clients to closely review the definitions in item 3 in the FAQ here: http://support.microsoft.com/gp/lifepolicy When evaluating the potential impact of end of support, Clients should consider the stability of their applications, the feasibility and costs for moving to other solutions, and the risks associated with prolonged downtime for the applications. In many cases, by the time 10 years have passed, ...

Steven Zolman

Jan. 11,2010

This is an SAP Negotiation Alert If you have an existing agreement or are considering a new agreement with SAP - watch out. New language is emerging that is extremely concerning. Here is a quick summary: SAP is including new language into Agreements, Amendments and Appendices which may limit the contractual rights of its customer, disallowing any future termination of maintenance and support services, of any software and users on an ad hoc or line item basis, or termination of any individual appendix. SAP is including new language that suggests the only way it will contemplate any kind of maintenance and support services termination is if it ...

Steven Zolman

Jan. 5,2010

Define the term "force majeure" for me. Looking online, there are several: it's French for "superior force" act of God: a natural and unavoidable catastrophe that interrupts the expected course of events (WordNet) a common clause in contract which essentially frees both parties from liability or obligation when an extraordinary event or circumstance beyond the control of the parties (Wikipedia) an unavoidable catastrophe (Wiktionary) So what's the common theme? It's the ability to AVOID a particular set of actions. In other words, force majeure events are those which are unavoidable or unforeseeable. If you only click one link above, do the ...