Have you ever experienced a truly aggravating situation with a business partner or a customer and wondered if the benefits from the relationship were worth the effort? It’s important to know when to try harder to make something work and when to walk away. Below are some tips on how to handle such challenging situations:
1. The best business decisions are driven by logic. You can’t ignore the emotional elements, but you have to confront them—and sometimes overcome them.
2. You must understand what is important to you and set your terms in advance so you know when you’ve passed your upper or lower limits and be prepared to walk away.
3. Long-term goals must drive decisions. Accepting compromises in the short-term to "save" a deal may jeopardize the potential for longer-term success.
4. Letting go and walking away doesn’t always mean the story is over. Although it is natural to lose interest once you have had to make such a tough and emotional decision, it is important to realize that if it was a deal worth fighting for, it is still worth doing if it comes back on your terms.
Beth Goldstein
President
Marketing Edge Consulting Group
Boston
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