Do you get what you deserve or what you negotiate?

"I would like to announce that I have chosen to extend my contract at Paris Saint-Germain (#psg), and of course I am delighted"

With these few words, the French Footballer Kylian #mbappe destroyed the hope of Real Madrid and surprised many football fans at the same time, me included. When I heard about it, I immediately understood that there must have been something very BIG in the balance to tilt the decision in favour PSG as everybody was already anticipating the move to Madrid. And indeed, the first few details of the deal that emerged effectively seem to point towards a unique proposition.

• The deal of the decade

How does this deal look like? From various information collection, it looks like this:

?? €300M signing bonus

?? €100M a year salary AFTER tax

?? He will help decide the coach.

?? He will have a say on the sporting director.

?? He can approve signings and sales

Is it the fairest deal in the World? Is it good for Football? The questions are open for discussion, and I’ll prefer to abstain from responding to this question and put the focus instead on a different situation.

• Don’t negotiate against yourself

On the contrast to the Mbappe deal, I still remembers the conversation I had with a very good colleague from the industry, Arnold.

Arnold was extremely talented and without a shadow of a doubt one of the most knowledgeable I’ve come across. He was just moving onto a different phase of his career, moving more into contracting in a different country and I was teasing about him now gearing up to make serious money and his response just like Mbappe decision, surprised me. He said: “Tony, I  never make money, I never do and by the way, I don’t need money to be happy with my Life”. Such a self-fulfilling prophecy was quite shocking  to hear and to some respect, it actually saddened me a bit. Why? Simply because, all too often I come across many other professionals in who regularly complain about not been recognised for the proper value, not been given what they deserve and then finding a way to rationalise it by declaring that they in fact do not need big money to enjoy life.

Does it ring bell to you? Have you come across an Arnold before as well? And let me amicably tease you a little bit? ARE YOU AN ARNOLD?

I’m happy to put my hand up an declared that I was an Arnold few ago and thanks to the support of many good people in my professional life, I’m not anymore. What made me change, well I simply understood this KEY lesson: “In Life, you don’t get what you deserve, but what you negotiate, period”.

• The Art of the Deal

When you are a good negotiator, you’ll engineered some amazing outcomes, many of which will be life changing and you’ll surprises quite a few people in the mix, just like Kylian did.

Although I honest could not claimed having public recognition course in negotiation, I could nevertheless share few nuggets that I have applied so far in my career that have allowed to come on top of some tricky negotiations.

1- Know what the other party wants

It is very essential to put yourself in their shoes and clearly see the World through their eyes. You’ll get a much better understanding of what is important and what can make them move. Also do the exercise to figure out what they have to offer.

2- Be clear on what you want

Once you understand the other part, it is time for you to properly figure out what is important and what you have the offer too. Where helpful, make an inventory and rank them by order of priority.

3- Be ready to compromise

This is the essence of negotiation. Two sides walking towards each other to find common ground. You should be prepared to make some concessions but when you do, do ensure you get something valuable in return.

4- Be creative

This is especially necessary when you reach deadlock situation and when initial propositions are not satisfactory from either side. How do expand the pie? PSG absolutely wanted to keep Mbappe and as we could see from deal, they’ve shown a good level of creativity.

5- Be ready to walk away

It is very important to set boundaries for yourself and red lines that you will not. It is up to you to communicate that to the other side but the important part is to let the people know when they reach this limit.  One of my golden rule is to ALWAYS be willing to walk away from a bad deal.

Does the Mbappe clan know about these rules? I do not have the slightest idea, but I suspect they have their own version and I would not be surprised to see some overlap.

Would I have gotten away with the same deal had I overseen the negotiation? Who knows? With a rare and highly valuable talent like Kylian, in an industry where money flows from the tap, you could rest assured that your servant would have made yourself proud??.

Has Kylian made the best decision for his career? Only time will tell but what is certain though, he will the opportunity to make it the right move for himself. Like all of us, he is the master of his Life and the only one to design according to his wildest dreams. SO WHAT ABOUT YOU?

Tony Tiyou is the founder and CEO of Renewables in Africa (RiA) is a Clean Energy Company raising Awareness about Renewable Energy in Africa and across the globe. Interested in our Awareness Program? Click HERE to find out more or talk with us on Clubhouse.