show your cards

I’m a horrible negotiator.

I hate negotiating because I don’t enjoy the game of back-and-forth trying to get the best deal; I’d rather come to the table transparent and make sure both sides get a good deal.

I’ve always been an oversharer. I remember early in my career being told never to show all of your cards, but I just can’t do it. When it comes to “negotiating,” it’s usually something I’m excited about, and when I’m excited, I can’t help but share how I’m feeling, which includes all of the pros and cons of the opportunity. If you’ve ever listened to an episode of LifeDesign+, you know this about me—you can tell when I go to a higher level of excitement.

Being overly transparent has never steered me wrong, which is why I’m not sure holding all of your cards close to you is the best approach—maybe it is in some situations, but I think more times than not, it’s better to be honest, open, and transparent especially if the other parties involved are people you know, like, and trust.

This morning, I sent a lengthy email outlining some ideas I had for a possible interesting opportunity. Rather than send a short email leaving out important details, I decided to show all of my cards. The way I look at it, showing all of my cards, allows us to quickly determine whether or not further discussions are necessary. I’m not trying to win a negotiation, I’m trying to see if a cool synergy is amongst us and something to explore further—I know my vision and what I want to ensure happens, so there’s no reason not to put it all out there.

I’ve had my transparency backfire in the short term, but it ended up being the best thing in the long term--I share this story in this conversation with my friend Matt Zeigler.​

The next time you have an opportunity in front of you and you know exactly what you want and need–how it fits into your authentic life, instead of being secretive and holding back, show all of your cards and see what happens.

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See you tomorrow and keep pursuing,

JC