The Last Dime

August 27, 2021

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The Last Dime

Larry Roine was a force of nature, born to practice law, and one of the most successful negotiators I’ve had the pleasure of working with. Larry’s favourite and best saying was, “Never take the last dime off the table.”

While Larry usually walked away from the table with everything he wanted, he was always careful to make sure that the other party mostly did, too. Larry practiced “win-win” long before the term became a fad.

It’s not because Larry was a softie. Anything but-- he was a big, muscular guy who had been a quarterback in university, he always exuded confidence and strength, and he played to win. But he knew a lot about human nature. He also knew that the world was a small place, and the odds were high that you would do business again with the other guy, or at least one of their friends.

Larry understood a thing called buyer’s remorse, the tendency in all of us to second guess ourselves after we’ve made a deal. More often than not, when the shine has gone off the new toy, we blame the salesman for duping us, and we are angry. “I’ll never buy a car from those shysters again!”, we tell all our friends.

By snatching the last dime off the table, we ensure that the other side will have buyer’s remorse, and bitterly disparage us to their friends and community. We appear greedy and opportunistic, and we lose reputation.

Letting the other guy take the last dime off the table let’s him feel that he is the winner, that the deal was not only fair, but tilted in his favour. He’ll want to do business with you again.

And it’s only a dime.

Forward to a friend!

Can I help you or your organization? Contact me at norm@purposeful.ca or at 613-862-3489.

Friday Briefing Archives

The best inheritance a parent can give his children is a few minutes of his time each day.

Orlando Aloysius Battista, Canadian-American chemist and author

Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.

Robert Louis Stevenson

What I Do

I am an explainer, that is, I deconstruct complex concepts and re-tell them in a fashion that can be understood.

In particular, I explain the secrets of professional success. These are things I wish I had known as a beginner lawyer in 1981, but which I had to learn by trial and error (and the occasional epiphany). These things are still not taught in law school or the Bar Admission Course, and generally not taught in any other professional training.

These secrets are simple yet profound, and are really just specific applications of common-sense life lessons. They are the keys to true professional satisfaction and financial success.

Call me at 613-862-3489 or e-mail me at norm@purposeful.ca

© Norman Bowley 2021, all rights reserved.
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