Edwin turned around two highly professional videos in less than a week after he conducted them. His company is in start-up mode and he's actively seeking both capital partners and clients. I highly recommend his work, and not just because he gave me two free videos. We'll be hiring his company to provide us with publicity before the month is over . . . we just have to negotiate the terms!

Without further ado, Edwin and She Negotiates.

Go to npr here.

The Davos World Economic Forum

The paucity of women at the Davos Economic Forum despite how rich the ones who attended are as described in this post by Forbes staff writer Louisa Kroll, The Richest Women at Davos.

Women's Davos Wardrobe Dilemmas covered by Moira Forbes as an unfortunate but still critical factor for the display of power necessary to be a player at the World Economic Forum.

A photo gallery of the executive conferences women CEOs love best.

The Continued Assault on the Glass Ceiling

Aman Singh's post on Why So Many Top Women Don't Make it to Executive Leadership.

Jenna Goudreau's Jobs Outlook:Careers Headed for the Trash Pile

Five Reasons Your Boss Wants to Give You a Raise This Year (Gender Neutral)

Negotiating with Mattie Ross of True Grit (Gender Neutral)

Sponsorship, Not Mentorship, Can Greatly Narrow the Wage Gap

Kucinich and the Olive Pit in a World of Injustice (gender neutral)

First You Wake Up, Then You Negotiate (gender neutral)

Jealousy's Underhanded Contribution to the Wage Gap by our Gen-Y blogger Katie Phillips.

Provocative Posts and Articles

Bad Career Advice:Nice Guys (and Girls) Finish Last by Christine Scivicque

Study says Dads Should be Less Involved in Parenting by Forbes Staff Writer Meghan Casserly as well as her terrific article on Sexy News Anchors' Distracting Effect on Viewers who can't seem to recall the news disseminated by these attractive women!

There's lots more over at ForbesWoman but those are the articles and blog posts that caught my own attention this week. Put ForbesWoman on your newsreader whether you're male or female, because it's pretty clear that women's economic power is growing and attention must be paid. 

You deserve a raise this year because you are working harder, longer and faster than you were before the recession. And as msnbc reported in 2009, you are doing so for less, not more, money.

 That means you are not only doing your own job, you’re also doing the jobs your laid off colleagues were doing. You’ll be difficult to replace because of that. Not only because John and Mary’s jobs are not in your historic employment description, but because fewer people will want to take on the work you’re doing now for the salary you’re now being paid.

 Your employer may need to hire two people to replace you. He or she will also have to incur the expense of hiring one or more new employees.

 You are more valuable than you believe yourself to be. You therefore have more bargaining strength than you believe yourself to have.

How to ask for a raise over at She Negotiates tomorrow.

• THE ASK - name your price first and to make your first number aggressive but not outlandish
  • you need at least three numbers to negotiate with - high, medium and bottom line
  • start with your high number
  • consider linking your high number to performance contingencies, i.e., if I do X and Y as I've promised, then my total compensation for 2011 will be Q; these performance contingencies can also be tied to the company's performance in 2011.
  • don't give all your reasons for your raise at the same time; you need a good reason for each of your high, medium and bottom line numbers - each round of negotiation requires "a number and a reason"
  • when making concessions, consider trading items of high value to you and low value to your employer, i.e., it doesn't cost your employer anything to let you work from home one or two days a week but it may well save you significant monies over the course of the year in transportation and incidental costs (this is called "log rolling")
  • go to your medium number reluctantly and stress that you are making a concession and expect reciprocity
  • go to your bottom line number only when you've completely run out of options

• PRETEND YOU ARE NEGOTIATING FOR SOMEONE ELSE
  • we women have a particular challenge in negotiating for ourselves because asking for ourselves contravenes gender norms
  • the research shows that we negotiate as effectively as men when we're negotiating for another but not when doing so for ourselves - so make yourself your own client and go out there and get the best deal for her

Click on the ForbesWoman link for the newest "She Negotiates" columnist, Roxana Popescu who here not only learns the lessons of street haggling, but who "outs" herself as the Daily Asker!

Nothing, and I mean nothing makes me happier than watching this new generation of women grow. Please drop by the Daily Asker and ForbesWoman to meet the brilliant and inspirational Roxana!

What does this man have that you don't?

A year-end 2009 salary of $21,340,547 during one of the worst year's in the history of his industry ~ banking.

Listen!  The recession is just another excuse for not paying you what you're worth.

How do we know?

Because the most effective negotiators on the planet ~ corporate CEO's ~ are finding the downturn to be the best time to squeeze every last living dollar out of their employers.

If they can do it, so can you!

 Here's the evidence:

	Bank of America Corp. Thomas Montag 2009 Total Compensation: $29,930,431		JPMorgan Chase & Co. James Dimon 2009 Total Compensation: $9,274,494
	Citigroup Inc. John Havens 2009 Total Compensation: $11,276,454		Morgan Stanley Walid Chammah 2009 Total Compensation: $10,021,969
	The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Lloyd Blankfein 2009 Total Compensation: $9,862,657		Wells Fargo John Stumpf 2009 Total Compensation: $21,340,547

 Whhaaaaaatttttt? do these men have that you don't have?

• Social networks with rich and powerful people who sit on their Boards of Directors and influence policy makers and Wall Street power brokers
• The self-created illusion that they are "too big to fail" /1
• The persuasive argument that only they, with their unique combination of experience, education, knowledge, savvy, can-do-spirit, and leadership qualities can pull these banks out of the sinkhole of the recession.
• Friends in very high places.
• Chutzpah and shamelessness (not that we'd want to encourage this second character flaw in our readers).
• Self-satisfaction.
• Entitlement.
• An employment history of asking for and receiving increasing levels of compensation based upon their salary negotiations at every career point possible (and every career point impossible)
• the demonstrated ability to produce results (our readers do possess this strength but haven't used it to their greatest advantage yet)
• the tendency to measure their market value by their value in the hands of their employer, not by what they "need" or what they are "worth" according to some internal metric that depends upon how they feel about thier accomplishments.

__________________

1/  This is where collective action comes in.  When we aggregate together America's employees, small business owners and homeowners, we get a non-corporate "entity" that is waaaayyyyyy bigger than some little piss-ant bank and it is we who are too big to fail.

Judy Martin, Business Journalist & Founder WorkLifeNation.com

"Lisa Gates reached into the very core of my being in order to bring me back into the reality of my dreams. Her talk is real and her methods concise. I no longer doubt what I'm doing...instead I speak, write, and live, knowing exactly why I do what I do and I realize that the goals I have set for myself are entirely up to me and attainable." 

Cicily R. Janus, Writing Away Retreats

At 8 PM Women on the Move gets down to business with attorney Victoria Pynchon, author of the Settle It Now Negotiation Blog, who has been called a “master of conflict resolution and deposition skills.”

Victoria recently became a regular contributor to Forbes.com’s “On the Docket” column.

You can call in with questions! 

Call-in Number: (347) 857-2102

If negotiation is a conversation with agreement as its goal, we should not be wasting our time arguing with one another about whose point of view is the best. We should be talking to one another about how we can both achieve as many of the goals we both want to achieve as a result of our conversation.

You do not have to change anyone's mind to give them what they want to get. And you don't have to grudgingly accept half a loaf (a portion of the pie) if, unbeknownst to one another, you possess five items of value your bargaining partner wants or needs, and your bargaining partner possesses a dozen items of value you want or need. In a really effective negotiation, you may find that together you and your bargaining partner can whip up a dozen pies and end up with more than either of you had imagined.

Wouldn't you like to be learning how to do this instead of working on that sanctions motion for your adversary's bad faith refusal to answer interrogatories?

The next game-changing She Negotiates month-long coached course begins on September 16.  Stop trying to change people's minds and start changing the world!

And gentlemen, tell your women friends.  Husbands and significant others benefit from this course as well!  My own happily came back from the gym the other day saying "I did what you taught me; I got two extra months of gym membership free."

I asked one of my consulting clients for a testimonial yesterday.

"Anything," she said, "it's genuinely changed the way I do everything.  It's not just the shift in my business relationship with [BigBiz, Inc.].  I dumped a boyfriend last week because of our conversations!  So, seriously, what would you like me to say?"

My client and I, like the few women commercial litigation clients I had during my twenty-five years as a lawyer (2%?) were quickly becoming friends.  And I was proud of her.  Truly proud.  Like a parent would be.

"I'm proud of you," I finally said, even though I'd been thinking it for weeks.  "You've shifted the power in your working relationship and that was difficult to do.  You were persistent.  You're a first class learner.  And you've been brave."

She laughed, the way we women do when we're praised, wanting the moment to pass instead of savoring it a little, particularly when we know deep down we've genuinely achieved something important in our own lives and careers but don't want to appear self-satisfied.

So I said it again.  "I'm really proud of you.  You've done great work and you never gave up.  You didn't fold to the power of BigBiz, Inc.  You stood up for yourself."

This is a powerful woman and she was powerful long before I met her.

Still.  It takes courage.  Don't for a moment believe that it's just you.  Yesterday at my Forbes "On the Docket" blog, I wrote about women lawyers who were angry about being bullied out of their "origination" credit.  "Origination" is the credit you get for bringing clients to the firm and sometimes for keeping them there simply by being damn good lawyers.  They feel initimidated and they're some of the most powerful women in the country.

"It takes courage," I said again to my client.  "Most women think it's them.  They believe they're the only ones who feel inadequate to the task of popping their head into the managing partner's doorway to say, 'I want to talk to you about sharing the origination credit for the work we've done for Major Petroleum Company, Inc.'"  We're all afraid of asking.  Hillary Clinton's afraid of asking.  Sure, Clinton can run for President, but I'd wager a cool thousand that it's not easy for her to ask for a raise."

"And practice," my client offered.

"Oh lord yes, practice," I responded.  "And here's the thing.  We tut-tut and shake our heads over the failure of citizens to confront their governments about genocide.  What were the German people thinking happened to all their Jewish neighbors?  They knew they'd been sent to camps and they knew they were being executed and starved to death.  Why didn't they do something?"

They were frightened.  We're not talking about blowing the whistle on corporate wrong-doing for which we might lose our jobs, disable ourselves from paying the mortgage and encounter long-term unemployment.   Any German who said, "hey, wait a minute - you can't put Jews in camps" was liable to be imprisoned and executed.  Any ordinary citizen who did what Miep Gies did in a effort to save Anne Frank's family put her own life and that of her family at risk."

"That's why we call them heroes and award them metals for bravery and uncommon valor.  If I do not practice standing up for myself and for those who don't have a voice here and now, I won't learn the lessons or develop the strength of character to stand up when the Nazis march into town."

"But my question," my client reminded me laughing.  "What do you want me to say?"

"I want you to say that my consulting transformed your entire life in addition to getting you the business deal you wanted." 

"In your own words, of course."

The next life-altering She Negotiates month-long online coached negotiation class begins on July 19.  That's next week.  When, if ever, will you be more ready to stand up, speak up, and begin to earn what you know you're worth?

The blog, which is today offering prizes, is here.

Testimonials

It's the quality instruction, real world experience, and bevy of resources brought to you by Victoria Pynchon that makes this course a stand out. On the internet a lot of people purport to deliver courses that will 'transform your life' or 'bring you to a new level in your business,' but often prove to be nothing more than advertising vehicles to enhance their lives and not yours. Victoria, with the support of that fabulous woman behind the Craving Balance curtain, Lisa Gates, has created a real winner with this course. And yes, it is transformative--it changes your beliefs about what you're capable of doing and having, because you're given the know-how and tools to make it happen."

Doreen Lima, Wildly Successful Personal & Professional Development

 "I am embarrassed to admit that I had only a glimmer of the science behind the negotiation process. And I had not given much thought to how often we bargain every single day in every part of our lives. Victoria has opened my eyes and helped me to fill a huge gap in my business and life tools. The change in my attitude toward money was a surprising bonus! I no longer dread talking about the fees I charge for my services. I may never eagerly embrace negotiation, but I no longer fear it and better yet, I appreciate and enjoy the process now. Thanks to She Negotiates, I am making great bargains and walking away when I say it’s the right time."

CaZ of Writing Bytes and 2 Chicks at Home

"Thank you so much Vickie and Lisa for raising my level of awareness of the power of negotiation, for helping me re-examine my self worth, and for encouraging me to stand up for my bottom line and not be swayed by someone else's bottom line."

Lori Lacey, Corporate Learning Specialist and Coach

"I learned more during this hands-on negotiating course than in another higher-priced class I took. Victoria and Lisa helped me make the emotional changes necessary to demand a higher value for my work, and taught a step by step process for getting the most from sales negotiations." 

Linda Gryczan, Mediator

 "Victoria and Lisa are an amazing team. Their individual areas of expertise create the perfect blend and balance for understanding the subtle nuances of the art and science of negotiation, and they do so in a way that is fearless and authentic. Thank you for this incredible opportunity. You've empowered me and I am grateful."

Debra Healy, Beaverton, Oregon

Lisa Gates of Craving Balance and I are doing it again!  An entire month of negotiation classes that will change your life. 

When Lisa and I planned our first month-long course (you can see the testimonials here) I told her that the women participating in it would make back the cost of the class in the first negotiation they conducted after the course ended.

I was wrong.

They made it back before the course was over  it back.  One participant said after the first weekly group teleconference,

I could drop out now and feel that I'd gotten more than what I paid for.

The response to our second course (now starting its third week) is even more powerful.  So powerful that an attorney I ran into at the recent WLALAPalooza event said,

I took your 90-minute free teleseminar and tripled my hourly rate in response.  I just did it today!  I'm so excited and so proud of myself!

So we've decided not to let the grass grow under our feet or yours.  We're offering the course again - with a  money-back guarantee - beginning on July 19.

And here, for the comparison shoppers among you, is the cost of more traditional, less personally tailored courses, courses that do not provide the support women need to go out and do it!  

Tuition for Straus Institute 42-hour mediation (negotiation facilitation) course:  $2,195.00 per person

Two-day Karrass course $998 per person

Local mediator Jeff Krivis' Improvisational Negotiation Course at the Straus Institute $1,295 per person for two and one-half days of instruction ($518/day per person)

Local mediator Lee Jay Berman's one-day Negotiation Course: $345 per person.

Why Negotiating Women at Craving Balance?

The course Lisa and I have developed is an interactive, one-on-one and group negotiation experience in which we help women quickly move past their storied fear of bargaining by:

• recognizing the opportunities to negotiate better compensation for their services or products, whether they be solo entrepreneurs or professionals; managers or professionals in a corporate or legal setting; or, employees in any type of organization;
• recognizing the opportunities to negotiate better relationships with workmates, colleagues, competitors or opponents, as well as with family members;
• seizing these opportunities in a style best suited for the individual student;
• practicing negotiation (and dispute resolution) skills with coaching and follow-up; and,
• encouraging them to show up for themselves and their families by naming their true market value and claiming it in a manner that does not damage but improves relationships.

You will make up the cost of this course -- and more -- before you can say, "who me?  negotiate?"

And let me say this about the power of Lisa's coaching -- a side benefit of putting this course together with her - I become a smarter, wiser, more productive, funnier, better focused, more effective and happier person with her guidance than without it.  

And how many people can you say that about?

Sign up here today!

I've just signed up for 365 days of asking.

My article on this subject from which these slides were drawn, appears in the ABA's Law Practice Management Magazine for April, 2010, online here.