Strategic Memos

Note on confidentialityThe case below is anonymised and slightly composited. The mechanism is real. No confidential data, names, or internal documents are disclosed. I recall a competitive tender from my…

Negotiating in Central Asia: What Happens Between the Words Central Asia is not a single “post-Soviet” negotiation style. It’s a cluster of high-context, hierarchy-aware markets where relationship signals, status cues,…

Negotiating in Greece: Warm Rooms, Clear Hierarchy, and the Power of Flexibility When people speak about negotiating in Greece, they often label it as “Mediterranean”: emotional, relational, and improvisational. There…

Negotiating in South Africa: Power, Dignity, Survival Negotiation in South Africa rarely behaves like a clean “business-only” transaction. It is shaped by economic hierarchy, institutional history, and a daily operating…

Negotiating in Türkiye: On the Art of the “Kayseri Bargain” When people speak about negotiating in Türkiye, they often refer to it as tough, emotional, or highly relational. While there…

Negotiating in the Balkans: One Region, Many Business Styles When people speak about negotiating in the Balkans, they often imply a single style or mentality. In reality, the region is…

The word "but" is a tactical error. It invalidates your counterpart and triggers resistance. I explain how to replace this "verbal eraser" with the "and" pivot to maintain deal momentum.

Shadow Spend is not a "hidden leak." It is operational negligence. I explain why unmanaged spending in HR, IT, and Marketing erodes margin and how to implement forensic control.

📊 Clean Sheet / Should-Cost Models: A Practical Enabler for Robust Sourcing Where this fits BCDD often finds weak linkage to real cost drivers and indexation logic; should-cost tools help build…