Hector A. Ruiz

MBA, Project Manager, Tennis Player, Musician, and Author of "How to Destroy a Country"

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Stairway to Plagiarism

By

On February 6, 2016

In Music

Last week, Led Zepellin surving members Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones were deposed for the suit filed by lawyer Francis Malofiy, who represents American rock band Spirit, who in the late 60s wrote an instrumental piece called “Taurus”, a song not many people are familiarized with. However I can confidentely say that you have probably heard Led Zepellin’s most famous song Stairway to Heaven, even several times, maybe as many times as Malofiy has listened to it.

Malofiy filed a suit against Page, Plant and Jones, under the premise that Stairway to Heaven shares a striking resemblance to Taurus, and that therefore Led Zepellin stole the main theme of Taurus and used it in Stairway to Heaven without “giving proper credit” to Spirit. Malofiy is seeking at least 50% of all of Stairway to Heaven’s royalties, which roughly amounts to half a billion dollars. Before getting into the specifics of the case, let’s take a look of the core problem.

This is Taurus:

…and well, in case you have been living in a cave in Afghanistan since 1962, or in say… an asteroid, and you have never listened to Stairway to Heaven in your life, well, enjoy:

Now let’s address the “giving proper credit” issue.

As I wrote last year, theoretical music is both easy and incredible hard at the same time. There is only a finite amount of notes and the odds of two pieces sharing a few notes in their basic structure is quite fair, meaning that it can happen every now and then.

The issue Malofiy is bringing is not that Stairway to Heaven sounds exactly or even similar to Taurus; it’s that Taurus may have served as the main inspiration to write Stairway to Heaven, and the fact there was no acknowledgement of this by Zepellin. Let’s consider the following example:

Seven years ago, Madonna requested ABBA’s permission to use the main theme of one Gimme, gimme, gimme, which you can listen to below:

…so that she could use its theme in one of the songs in her upcoming new album. The song was eventually launched as a single which became a huge hit:

It is safe to say that they both sound alike, right? Well, of course they do. One served as the inspiration for the other.

The difference is that Madonna gave credits to ABBA as writers, as you can see here. So nothing’s wrong in that case, because ABBA receives royalties and cultural acknowledgement that they were co-writers of Hung up.

In the case with Spirit and Led Zepellin, a point can be made by Plant, Page and Jones, who declared earlier this past week that “their memories on the 60s and 70s were vague“, which kind of makes sense considering the amount of heroin and alcohol they were doing back then. Therefore, a case can be made by arguing that Stairway to Heaven and Taurus sound similarly simply because it is coincidence.

In my opinion, while both songs are not as similar as Hung up and Gimme, gimme, gimme, there is no question that Stairway to Heaven‘s intro sounds very similar to Taurus. Being completely technical, both songs begin with an A minor bass line that progresses descending a semitone per beat all the way to D. The key factor to highlight is that the bass line in both acts as the main theme. Does this mean Led Zepellin indeed stole Spirit’s Taurus to write Stairway to Heaven?

Plant, Page an Jones can certainly plead ignorance and swear happened to be a coincidence, like Nerf Heder did with D.O.F. Additionally, every respectable musician knows that an A minor descending bass line as a main theme is a very common musical structure in rock and pop music. However, that is not the only aspect where Stairway to Heaven and Taurus are similar. The phrasing -meaning, the way the guitar strings are played through the descending progression- is even more similar than the progression itself. The tempo in which the phrasing is played is -I would say- exactly the same. And then, there’s the knockout punch.

Nerf Heder can get away with claiming ignorance and swear that had no idea D.O.F. existed. After all, what are the chances of a teen pop punk band from Santa Barbara, California, knowing about a pop German band from the the 1980s? It’s a 50-50 shot at best in my opinion. But, can Plant, Page and Jones claim they had no idea of Spirit? Not at all.

Led Zepellin as a whole, not only knew about the existence of Spirit: they actually toured with them. And yes, Spirit played Taurus during these tours with Led Zepellin. This is a huge decisive element that does not play in their favor. Then there is also the kicker that Led Zepellin has already been found guilty of plagiarizing Dazed and Confused from Jake Holmes.

…and turn it into Dazed and Confused

All of this makes me conclude that in my opinion, Led Zepellin is guilty of at least subconsciously plagiarizing Spirit from Taurus, and use it as an inspiration to write Stairway to Heaven, in a similar judgement that was given to George Harrison.

What do you think?

HR

Understanding Venezuela’s 2016

By

On January 7, 2016

In History

Two years ago I started drafting a manuscript where I am providing a sociopolitical analysis of Venezuela’s recent history. My idea for it is to serve as a guide to learn how such a rich and promising country as Venezuela wasted every opportunity to become a global leading superpower, and instead fell on the path of turning into a collapsed failed state. It would be great if one day I can share my writings, however at the present time I do not know exactly what will come out of them. I would like to share some of what I have written so far, but I do not have a cohesive narrative yet, especially in the political aspect of the country, which has been in the eyes and ears of the world. In the meantime, I want my readers to catch a glimpse on the high expectations Venezuelans have set on this new year 2016, and the reasons why these expectations are so high.

After the recent trounce of the socialist government in Venezuela in the National Assembly elections, several of my friends living in the US and in Europe have asked me -since I am currently living in Venezuela- about the repercussions and implications the astounding results have for 2016, given the severe crisis the country has been for the past ten years. Some have referred to the elections results as a devastating night, while others call it “the first ray of light”, I call it “the greatest test in the country’s history.”

To understand politics in Venezuela, one must understand basic politics in other democracies and add a little tweaks here and there. School teaches us that in most democracies, governments have three branches of power: executive, legislative and judicial, with the logic that their powers can cancel out one another, kind of like rock-paper-scissors. Having that said, in order to understand the situation in Venezuela we have to build a bit of context.

Most historians agree that while General Marcos Perez Jimenez -who governed Venezuela from 1952 to 1958- was a dictator, he was on track to establish Venezuela as a developed world leading superpower, had he remained in office. Since his deposing, Venezuela entered a 40-year period in which the two most important parties (Accion Democratica / Democratic Action and Partido Socialcristiano COPEI / Social Christian Party COPEI) had close to an equal split on all three government branches of power, with other minor parties skimming a very minimal role. During this era, Venezuela began a gradual, slow but steady decline from Perez Jimenez’s progress path. As years went by, it appeared that the country was heading towards becoming an underdeveloped country, instead of the world super power Perez Jimenez had envisioned. Key signs such as an economy mauled by inflation and currency devaluation only kept getting worse as time went by. This economical downfall was backed up by countless cases of sociopolitical corruption and a failed judicial system.

By 1998 Venezuelans were fed up with the traditional political parties, and that’s when Chavez rose to power, winning an election by captivating the population with promises to slay the political system that had been deceiving the people for almost 40 years. Disappointed as they were, Venezuelans voted in consecutive three elections in 1998, 1999 and 2000 to legally handover complete power of all branches of the government to Chavez’s socialist political party. As he settled as leader of Venezuela’s new governmental model, Chavez created two more branches, which he called the electoral branch, and the moral branch, and accordingly filled them with socialist party members. From that point and on for over fifteen years, AD and COPEI were diminished to almost their complete irradication.

But then something unexpected happen: in 2013 Chavez fell ill and when his death became imminent, named Nicolas Maduro -one of his closest proteges- as his successor. After Chavez passed away Maduro assumed the presidency, and sent Venezuela through the worst crisis imaginable in the country in its history. Some of the most well-known aspects are:

  • Shortage of products, including basic products (food, health, hygiene), which has generated countless (and useless) regulation controls to access the few available products, at ridiculous prices.
  • Hyperinflation, at numbers so high (roughly around 700%), that Venezuela’s Central Bank stopped releasing any economic indicators or data.
  • Currency exchange control with four different prices to obtain US Dollars, with none of them being easily accessible by the population, opening the door for a black market where the US Dollar holds an ask price over 1,000% above the government’s official exchange rate.
  • Insecurity and crime rates soaring at numbers so high, that the Department of State and Justice -similar to the Central Bank- also no longer releases crime data indicators.

This whole mess reached a boiling point on December 6 last year, where parliament elections were held, and Venezuelans voted in 112 seats of 165 possible to a coalition formed by the all the opposition parties to the government. It was the first time in sixteen years in which Chavez’s socialist party lost control and power in a government branch, and the coalition of opposition parties against previously Chavez and now Maduro were able to obtain a significant and meaningful lead in Venezuela’s political scene, which is a feat that had seemed impossible for the past fifteen years.

This radical shift of power is basically the same story that had previously occurred and that allowed Chavez win 1998 and subsequent elections, the only difference being that back then there were no shortages and Venezuela was not living under hyperinflation economic indicators. There was a currency exchange control, but it wasn’t as bad as the current one; and crime had always been an issue in Caracas since the 1980s. My point is that the same impulsive feeling that made people vote for “something different” back then, is the same one that ocurred recently in December. You may note that I wrote “something different“; I didn’t write “something new.”

Some analysts call this impulse “punishing-vote” (as in, one candidate gets punished by the other option because there is no other choice). Finding where will this “punishing-vote” lead Venezuela next is Henry Ramos Allup’s main responsibility. Ramos -a leading opposition lawyer who now is the new president of the National Assembly- has been a long time AD deputy. He is well respected and well educated in Venezuela’s law and politics. Some people refer to him as a “good ol’ fox” due to his quick wit. Others consider him “old-school”, “more of the same” and other similar qualifications. 

The next months will be crucial, and the margin of error for the opposition is minimum, due to the desperate situation the population lives on a daily basis. Most of the country’s key productive population (recent graduates, young executives) have only one thing in their minds: migration. This means that the more capable force of the population is deserting the country and leaving the inexperienced and unqualified people in charge of running the day-to-day of Venezuela. Therefore, the opposition collition has yet to lay down a plan of what urgent measures will be needed to reactivate the country’s economy, and improve the quality of life of Venezuelans. Additionally, there are censorship issues, political prisoners, and so on. I myself am completely convinced the country right now needs three things:


1) Dismantle the currency exchange control system.
History has been proven, not once, not twice, but three times in Venezuela (as well as in other countries), that currency exchange controls simply do not work. It doesn’t matter if it’s a band system (Great British Pound 1992), or a fixed system (Zimbabwe). Supresing and afixiating the flow of supply and demand for foreign currency, does nothing good to the economy of the country. Venezuela’s currency exchange system must be dismantled. The sooner the better.


2) Reactivate local production and distribution of goods.
When you have a country that produces trillions of dollars in industries as broad as electronics, technology and shipyards, supporting an economy so diverse you don’t know where to build your next artificial island, then you can consider importing as a necessity or even a luxury. Otherwise, you economies should incentive local production of goods. Currently there is simply not enough for the country’s population. Imports -which currently are the only option- should be the alternative and never the primary source of goods, especially if there is a currency exchange system that blocks imports. Goods must be brought to the people locally, by whichever means necessary.

3) Develop a true anti-crime force.
Few things in life are as demoralizing as knowing that you have to leave from wherever place you are, because you are afraid you might be assaulted, attacked, robbed or raped. Despite having local, municipal, state and national police forces, none of them have been proven to be effective against the absolute stronghold that organized and unorganized crime has in the city. Venezuelans must have the right to feel safe in their own land.

The population’s frustration with Maduro’s government may lead to other potential objectives the newly opposition-led Assembly can set their minds into, such as impeaching Maduro or even having him removed from office. However, I believe, there is no better marketing to remove someone from office, than having your own results speak for yourself to prove how qualified you are to do a better job than someone else who currently isn’t. Anything unnecessary, unneeded, or uncalled objective, is and will be a deviation of what the real task on hand is and must be. Moreover, it will be judged as a waste of time and a waste of trust the Venezuelans placed in the new Assembly.

And that is why the opposition must make the best out of this opportunity that has been handed to them.

HR

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

By

On December 18, 2015

In Movies and TV/Steaming Series

What can one say about a movie that has been in the works for more than ten years? For 32 years to be precise. What is there to say about the continuation of The Return of the Jedi, and the Original Star Wars Trilogy? Believe me: there is not much good to say.

Let me start by stating that my expectations were pretty low on this, to the point of considering The Force Awakens a success, if its quality was slightly better than The Phantom Menace (the infamous Episode I). Now as I sit and write this, I can say it was a good thing that I set the bar pretty low, in terms of Star-wise speaking. So, here goes my full review of The Force Awakens with spoilers include.

The Force Awakens is actually a good movie and I could even rate it as a very good one, if (and that is a huge conditional if) you remove it from the Star Wars universe. The problem is, The Force Awakens is part of the Star Wars universe. Therefore there are two angles to this review: one in which you remove TFA from Star Wars’ universe and it is actually turns out to be very good film with a good plot, good acting, good editing, characters that are involving and who are easy to relate to from an audience standpoint, good soundtrack, and everything else. So what is the problem with TFA then? I have two major concerns which I believe are its greatest flaws, and I have one minor concern, which I would gladly concede given that it is so hard to produce the perfect product that everyone was expecting with this film. So let me get into each one of them one at a time.

My first major concern: Killing Han Solo.

I am not who came up with this idea. Some say it was Harrison Ford himself, others say it was Lawrence Kasdan. The point is: why kill off the best character of the series -the most witty, the clever one, the scroundrel, the most likeable-, but more importantly, the best actor of the series? It probably would have been more believable, more dramatic and more intense to kill off Leia. Why? Because she’s a woman, she’s Kylo’s mother, she’s fragile, she’s related to Luke, she was meant to be a Jedi, and dozens of other reasons.

Killing Leia would have had a huge impact on the audience. Plus let’s face it, Carrie Fischer’s presence is not on the same level as Harrison Ford’s. The few minutes Fischer was on screen as Leia, the movie felt dragged and its plot moved at a dull pace. On the contrary, every time Harrison showed up on screen, he basically stole the show. Writing about it now, maybe that is why they killed him: because he would carry more interest than any of the other characters in the film, especially the new ones. This means that killing him was a business decision, and not an artistic decision.

There are other problems with Solo’s death of course, the most obvious being that the minute Solo stepped foot on that platform, everyone knew what was going to happen. It was all a question of how. Killing Leia instead would have been completely unexpected, out of the line, daring and surprising. It could have also left the door open to bring her back on Episode VIII as ghost. Han’s death instead felt rushed, predictable and unsurprising. Snoke already hinted that Kylo had to kill his father due some issues we are never aware of. This also creates another problem: the fact that it seems as it’s a norm in all films of the franchise to leave interesting context without any explanation, and simply not to talk about it. This is why having Leia meet Kylo as a mother to try to “bring her son home” would have been more effective. But then again… business above art, and Star Wars stopped being an art a long time ago.

My second major concern: Kylo Ren as a villain.

I am not really sure what happened here.

He started off great – menacing as anyone could picture a sith could be: heartless, capable and ruthless. He kind of feels what Anakin Skywalker should have been in the prequel trilogy: a young gifted force user who could not control his emotions and fell to the temptations of the dark side. That is how I pictured a young Vader, back when I watched the original trilogy.

The issues here begin with Kylo initially looking more menacing and intimidating than Vader ever was on Episode IV. But then somehow throughout the movie he kept continually forgetting the powers he had displayed on the first scenes, where we see him stop laser shots in mid-air, force-choke people, use mind force control, use telekenesis effectively, and in essence do anything you could imagine a dark side force user could do. By the end of the film, he looks like a trainee who had just started to get familiar with the force about a week ago, to the point where he almost loses a duel against a regular stormtrooper/janitor, and is immediately and easily defeated by the a teenage girl who had literally just became familiar with the force hours before facing him.

Speaking of these duels, ever since the original trilogy I had always believed that only Jedis / Jedi trainees could handle lightsabers. I will specifically point to the Empire Strikes Back scene where Han Solo rescues Luke during the snow storm. If you recall the scene, you will notice that he holds and ignites Luke’s lightsaber, however he looks uncomfortable holding it and it seems that there is something in particular with the weapon that he is unable to control. Maybe it was or felt to heavy, or maybe the raw energy coming from it generated pressure on him… who knows. The point is: the scene shows that Han and a lightsaber weren’t compatible, as in common humans and lightsabers weren’t compatible. I have always liked that little gem from the film, because it is one of those pieces of information the film feeds you without giving much detailed explanation. So unlike Luke who right from the first time he handles one -in Episode IV after meeting Ben Kenobi-, Han looks awkward with a lightsaber in his hand, probably because he wasn’t force sensitive person and lacked the natural abilities to handle it, unlike Luke. Now, in The Force Awakens, any stormtroopers/janitors or scavengers can hold and use lightsabers in an effective way. They can also defeat someone who has been training for years.

Then you have the mask. It seems like the mask was there only to hide a childish young man with serious anger issues. When Darth Vader was unsatisfied with the progress, he killed the soldiers and admirals in a cool and threatening manner. Kylo however destroyed his own computer instead. Personally, I didn’t have a problem with the mask, but I felt it was an unnecessary accessory. It probably would have been a better idea to initially show him without it, then have him put it on to transmit to the audience the aspiration he had of fulfilling his grandfather’s path towards the dark side, and keep the audience engaged between the revelation of apprentice versus leader he wanted to transmit. Instead, the mask is used as an intimidation device, which was only effective for as long as it is worn. Once removed, the aura of invincibility is gone.

Then we have my minor concern.

Do we really need more of lead female teen heroes ?

I am not anti-feminist, but the lead female teen hero thing is getting a bit old. I guess it is as it’s a matter of taste, however Daisy’s Rei is certainly no Mark’s Luke.

The rest of the movie can be discussed at lengths, highlighting points like:

  • The beginning felt rushed. It seemed like an internal battle was taking place in the movie itself, rather than going for a slow introductory character development.
  • The main weapon: a death star on steroids -which ironically was easier to destroy than its predecessors-.
  • The jokes were fine, however most of them were unnecessary, especially those where Finn was involved.
  • The supreme leader looked more like Lord Voldermort -which kind of makes sense since Kylo looked like Snape-.
  • Having parts from both the back and main story without any background or explanation felt cheap. In the original trilogy, this was briefly done on very punctual occasions, because the objective was to allow the audience’s imagination to fill the holes for the story, mostly because they weren’t interesting or relevant to the plot. In The Force Awakens however, these holes are interesting and relevant to the plot. Despite this overall, it seemed like the movie simply did not want to focus on anything interesting related to the story, such as explaining how Kylo was seduced by the dark side, what were his issues with Han, why did Luke fail as a trainer, and how did the orange thing find Luke’s / Anakin’s original lightsaber. It seems like the producers need to take lessons from Christopher Nolan, or at least should be forced to watch Batman Begins before embarking on a project of such magnitude as this one.
  • I liked how the old characters were slowly introduced and not thrown in all of a sudden. Han/Chewie’s first appearance felt a bit forced, but it didn’t bother me too much. Like I said, Harrison is such a good actor, he eventually took over his part so well. You just can’t dislike him at all.
  • And then finally of course, you have that horrible feeling of having seen a remake of Episode IV.
  • …and of course, last but not least, the Stormtroopers’ blaster aiming hasn’t improved in 30 years.

So where does The Force Awakens stand against the original trilogy and the prequel trilogy? Well, it has no chance against any of the original films. Against prequels, it’s a more difficult judgement:

Time is making The Phantom Menace disappear into the depths of oblivion, thanks to Jar-Jar Binks, Jake Lloyd, and an uncharismatic Liam Neeson. The Force Awakens is better than The Phantom Menace by a longshot.

Attack of the clones had too many Titanic-alike scenes, and then of course there is Hayden’s wooden acting. Combine that with the boring politics and questionable plot decisions, and the result is obvious. The Force Awakens is better than Attack of the clones.

Revenge of the Sith was a complete disaster, with so much going on about everything, yet somehow managed to be the best of the prequels (not that it was too difficult). At this time I will say The Force Awakens is better than Revenge of the Sith. Like I mentioned a few paragraphs above, Kylo Ren felt more fulfilling as a villain than Anakin Skywalker. Also, not even Samuel L. Jackson could top Harrison Ford.

Overall, The Force Awakens is better than all the prequels, mostly because it is a safe bet. It’s a soft-reboot that has a better molding and a better setup than any of the prequels ever did. Still, this does not save it from having some questionable dialogue, like when the supreme leader Snoke says: “Bring Kylo Ren, I must complete his training.” Well no @#$% ! He almost got his ass kicked by a stormtrooper/janitor, and he was soundly defeated by a teenage girl. You are damn right he needs more training! And he also needs therapy to fix his anger issues.

The only remarkable thing this film achieved was the shattering of all the box-office opening weekend records, which makes for a successful ROI to everyone involved in setting up the high expectations true fans had on getting a great Star Wars movie… one we have been waiting for 32 years, which by the way, we are still waiting for.

In a nutshell, The Force Awakens is a glorious victory for Hollywood as a business model, and a sad defeat for all true film makers and fans.

HR

Mayweather vs. Pacquiao

By

On May 2, 2015

In Sports

I could go on lengths of words and paragraphs on a long detailed analysis of the most anticipated fight in the last years, the hype preceding it and the post-effect of the 12-round Mayweather vs Pacquiao fight, which ended with Mayweather winning by unanimous decision.

However I will go as far as to say that there was a time when boxers got into a ring and actually performed a boxing fight against each other, making boxing entertaining and making fights worth the thrilling hype that surrounded them prior to the actual event taking place. Those days are long gone now.

HR

Duck Soup

By

On March 3, 2015

In Movies and TV/Steaming Series

“Take two turkeys, one goose, four cabbages, but no duck, and mix them together. After one taste, you’ll duck soup the rest of your life.” That’s the explanation that Henry “Groucho” Marx gave for the title of the 1933 Marx Brother’s gem.

Duck Soup is slightly over 80 years old, yet it’s a very refreshing and brilliant film by any standards. It is a testament that sometimes you can make people laugh without sex jokes, fart jokes or puking gags -not that I have anything against it, but it does get a little old at times, especially if it’s overused-. Duck Soup relies on all four Marx Brothers at what they do best to make audiences laugh.

Duck Soup is set in Freedonia, a country in high debt that is also the target of a revolution secretly sponsored by its rival neighbor Sylvania, particularly by its Ambassador in Fredonia -Mr. Trentino- who intends to marry Mrs. Teasdale, a wealthy Freedonia socialite who in the very first scene of the film lends $20 million dollars to Freedonia’s government under the condition that controversial Rufus T. Firefly -played by Groucho- is appointed leader of the country. In Duck Soup Groucho delivers one of his best performances: he is hilarious and always on the spot with his well-timed one-liners, as he tries to cope with an inept cabinet, a Secretary of Defense who happens to be a Sylvanian spy, his personal driver -who always takes off without him-, and a Personal Secretary who has to mail Firefly’s dentists checks but without actually enclosing the checks.

The movie is filled with memorable moments. During one particular scene in which Firefly courts the wealthy Mrs. Teasdale, he says to her: “Married. I can see you right now in the kitchen bending over a hot stove. But I can’t see the stove.” Another of my favorite moments occurs in court when Firefly is interrogating Chicollini -his Secretary of Defense- who is being tried for treason. Frustrated with his witness’ lack of intelligence at answering the most basic questions, Firefly takes it on his own to address the jury: “Gentlemen, Chiccolini here may look like an idiot, act like an idiot and talk like an idiot. But don’t let that fool you…he really is an idiot!”

What makes Duck Soup great apart from the sharp script, is the chemistry between the four brothers, as well as with the remaining characters. As a 1933 black and white movie, there are certain aspects of the it that look dated, however the great performances make up for them. If you can get past this barrier, you will have a great time enjoying this piece of art. The musical segments can be a little unexpected, but they were a need back then; also, Margaret Dumont -the actress that plays Mrs. Teasdale- happened to be a professional opera singer, so it is impressive to see her talent on the screen.

Humor can take many forms, such as satire, sitcom, direct, impersonations, and of course the vauderville gag. If comedy is your thing, then know this: Duck Soup is a must on the list of any film fan, so do yourself a favor and watch this movie right now.

HR

Requiem for a Dream

By

On February 21, 2015

In Movies and TV/Steaming Series

With the Oscars coming up and my unconditional devotion for good films, today I’ll be talking about one of my favorite movies, which I also consider one of the best movies ever made. Keep in mind that recent history has proven the Oscars and best (or great) movies do not necessarily share a common ground.

Last weekend I hosted a party at my home and at one point we began playing “Guess the movie” by playing a soundtrack, and we bounced around most of the classic tracks from Disney films, to epics, to adventure, drama, and so on. At one point the song that was played was Requiem for a Dream‘s title song, which was immediately guessed by one of my friends in less than a second. Another friend was left startled at how fast the correct answer was given. I immediately told her: “Because that soundtrack gets embedded in your mind. That is how you know someone has or hasn’t seen that movie.” I lent her the DVD and invited her to enjoy the film. For those of you who haven’t seen it, I will not be spoiling anything. For those who want me to spoil something, I will briefly mention a couple of points talk a bit near the end of this entry.

Requiem is not just a good movie, or a great movie. It’s a powerful movie. It starts out without much fuzz and it even looks cheap at the beginning. It’s obviously an independent film, but just a couple of minutes into the movie, you are treated to something quite rare that only lasts a few seconds, but leaves crude impression right from the start. Also from the start, the movie is always backed up by the perpetual soundtrack of the Kronos Quartet, which is why the tunes of the movie get stuck in everyone’s mind so easily. Then there is the acting.

A young Jared Leto, who had just came from finishing “Fight Club” shines as Harry, the troubled son of retired widow Sara, who wishes for a better life and works hard -perhaps not in the most legal of ways- to achieve it in order to bring happiness for himself, as well as his girlfriend Marion, played by Jennifer Connelly. Most people believe Jen’s peak was her portrayal of John Nash’s wife in “A Beautiful Mind”, but I strongly disagree everytime I hear this assessment. I’ve always believed that you are witnessing an Oscar worthy performance, when an actor becomes one with the character they are portraying, and this is what Jen does becoming Marion: the most memorable moment is the bath-tub scene.

Then you have Marlon Wayans, fresh from the teen comical “Scary Movie” series, where he plays a pretty much one-sided dimensional character. In Requiem however, Marlon plays Harry’s best friend Tyrone, who has sort of a similar background as Harry’s, but less dramatic and more tragic. By the time the film had ended I had to double check it was in fact Marlon Wayans playing Tyrone, because I just simply couldn’t put together that the actor was the same guy had played the stoner in Scary Movie. Marlon has a nude scene with a profound impact because it humanizes the character in a way the viewer simply doesn’t expect it.

The show however belongs to Ellen Burstyn. And trust me, it’s not that Jen, Jared and Marlon do an average job, or a good job. Their performances alone are Oscar nomination worthy (or any award you may consider worth respecting). But Ellen, she just takes the entire film to a whole new level. Her performance is right there with Marlon Brando’s Vito Corleone, or F.Murray Abraham’s Antonio Salieri. Her character Sara Goldfarb, Harry’s mother, is unimpressive at first, even comical if you want. After say 15 minutes, somethings happens and she begins gaining strength. As the movie gets going, like a huge snowball falling from top of Mount Everest, she soon becomes a huge avalanche, with the dancing refrigerator scene becoming the “before and after” moment of the film. After that scene, Ellen reaches acting levels I have never seen in cinema from a lead female performance. The monologue scene left me breathless, and it will do the same to you. According to IMDb:

“During Ellen Burstyn’s impassioned monologue about how it feels to be old, cinematographer Matthew Libatique accidentally let the camera drift off-target. When director Darren Aronofsky called “cut” and confronted him about it, he realized the reason Libatique had let the camera drift was because he had been crying during the take and fogged up the camera’s eyepiece. This was the take used in the final print.“

… and just when you think nothing can top that scene, she continues raising the bar. I don’t want to give any specifics, but there are so many details on her character that everytime I watch the film, I am able to discover something new I hadn’t seen before.

Ellen was indeed nominated for the Oscars that year 2001, but she lost to the more Hollywood-esque oriented, Julia Robert’s Erin Brockovich. As I stated at the beginning, sometimes Oscars and Best are not synonimous. Believe me: as much as I respect Julia Roberts as an actress -including her performance in Erin Brokovich– there is a monumental gap between Julia’s Erin and Ellen’s Sara. In fact, I can rank Julia’s Erin performance equal to Jennifer Connelly’s Marion, with the slight difference that perhaps you may say Julia’s Erin was more of a lead character than Jen’s Marion. Still, I rank both performances quite evenly.

How Ellen was snubbed by the Oscars that year is beyond me, and is one of the reasons why I have never cared about the Oscars (or any awards). I guess Hollywood has a thing against independent films, and while Julia’s Erin was a good choice, it was also a better fit to the cliché of award winning performances based on real life stories (IE: Colin Firth in King Speech, Geoffrey Rush in Shine, Martin Landau in Ed Wood, and so on). In fact, now that I think about it, I would dare to say that Ellen being snubbed that year is the greatest blunder in the history of Oscars.

Darren Aronofsky’s direction is exactly what is expected from a director. He brings the film together and gives the audience a piece of art. There is a lot I can say about it, but I don’t want to take that pleasure from you.

Then you have details like the supporting minor characters. Like I said before, this in an independent film shot on a $4 million budget. It seems to me that Darren squeezed the best out of every penny to deliver the end result. The minor characters -who in any other film seem may be perceived as unimportant- in Requiem are as crucial and as important as the major characters, to the point that -like the film’s soundtrack- they leave a strong impression in your mind like the lead characters do. This is something that does not happen on other films. How much do you remember from the guy who introduces Strider/Aragorn to Frodo in “Lord of the Rings“? Or from the door bell in “There’s something about Mary“, or from the guys playing cards in “Titanic“.

Keith David, who has been known as someone who is in films for only a few minutes delivering two or three lines of dialogue and who throughout his career has been providing memorable minor supporting appearances in films (General Kinsey in “Armageddon“, Childs in “The Thing“, King in “Platoon“, Louis Fedders in “Men at Work“), delivers what arguably I may be his most memorable appearance. It’s kind of hard to top Childs and Louis Fedders, but by playing Big Tim in “Requiem“, he brings a whole new meaning to a gentle laugh over the phone. Trust me, when you watch the “laugh on the phone” scene scene you will either burst to death from laughing or throw a hammer at your TV set: you have been warned. Other supporting characters include Sara’s friends, who are equally powerful, although in their own particular way inside the story. I love the “if this is red, then what’s orange?” exchange.

Then you have the great Stanley B. Herman as Uncle Hank (according to the credits), who is better known colloquially as the “Ass-to-Ass Guy“. You probably haven’t heard of Stanley B. Herman before, and trust me you’ll probably never hear from him ever again. He’s in the film for… five seconds maybe? Definitely no more than ten seconds. However, his appearance is so memorable that his character has even created a cult-following. Years ago I read an article dedicated to Stanley’s memorable performance, in which the author wrote: “I’m not sure how he got cast to be the Ass-to-Ass Guy, but from what I can tell, it was the role he was born to play“. The author also stated that “Not since Boba Fett in the original Star Wars trilogy, has a character intrigued the masses so much with a bare minimum of screen time”.

Finally, there is the deaf mob-boss, the police officer at the coffee shop, Arnold, the cops at the prison… even Dylan Baker has a five second memorable appearance as well.

Combine all of this with the looping and haunting Kronos Quartet score, and the result is that Requiem for a Dream leaves a mark in your brain so strong, it would take two ammesia attacks for it to start dissappearing.

Imagine a mental beating with the same physical suffering ancient Romans inflicted on their slaves, relentlessly and endlessly breaking them until forcing their submission. That is exactly what this movie does to you. I have yet to meet someone who has been able to stand Requem without giving a minimal sign of grief. Requiem is the epitome of independent filmmaking: daring, crude, merciless, realistic and just when you think it will cut you a break, it keeps on pounding your mind non-stop. If you expect this film to take a pause and go easy on you for a minute or two, then you guessed wrong. It will go hard and harder until it breaks you down.

HR

John Carpenter’s The Thing

By

On January 11, 2015

In Movies and TV/Steaming Series

A couple of weeks ago I watched “The Lady in Black” with a couple of friends, which is a recent horror film starring Harry Potter’s Daniel Radcliffe, and, to be perfectly honest, the movie left a pretty bad taste on my mouth. So after the unsatisfactory feeling, I convinced my friends to watch a real jewel from the horror genre: John Carpenter’s The Thing.

None of my friends had seen this classic, which is a virtually a flawless movie. The Thing is a piece of art, right from the beginning starting with that spooky soundtrack that creates a tune that captures your imagination and let’s you know when something bad will happen. The group of characters is numbered at twelve and the film applies a formula similar to the one seen in Alien of not giving much importance to anyone in particular. Instead, the film portrays them as normal human beings with weaknesses and emotions. A very young Kurt Russell along with Keith David lead the pack, but just barely. The rest of the characters is so balanced that you have absolutely no idea who will the next victim be.

The script and plot of the movie are solid. It is fascinating to think that the base of the film is a short story dated from 1931. By the time you are fifteen minutes into the film, the tension has been building up so effectively, you have no choice but to immediately place yourself in the situation our protagonists are in. This grip the movie holds on you gets tighter with every passing minute, reaching the climax once the movie reaches its ending.

Then we have John Carpenter’s direction and treatment of the film’s plot. There are so many well constructed details, even today -years after its release- a huge fan base keeps investing endless hours of research discussing every possibility of the many theories that can explain the movie’s plot and its highly ambiguous ending. A few examples of the recurrent questions we can find online without answers include:

  • What happened to Fuchs?
  • Why didn’t Palmer and Norris assimilate MacReady at the crater?
  • Who did Fuchs see?
  • Who got rid of the blood?
  • Did Childs really see someone outside the camp?
  • What happens with the survivors?
  • …and the mother of all questions: Who is infected in the end?

This -in my opinion- is where The Thing’s strength is. It is as gentle as a rose in a field of grass on spring. The Thing is more than a horror movie; it is a puzzle that leaves the viewer with a huge desire of trying to put the pieces of it together in order to understand it as a whole, pretty much like what happens with Memento or Mulholland Dr.

When praising the movie, one has to discuss the theories that try to solve the puzzle, which leave us with no other option but to realize that The Thing (the actual creature) is not just another alien that wants to systematically kill everyone on sight, but it’s a cold-blooded, smart, methodical killer, whose strategy even includes injecting fear in its enemies, spreading confusion by deceiving, and cultivating the lost of hope. For instance, in the scene where Norris dies, why would Palmer point at the Norris-head-thing? Because he wanted everyone to believe that he wasn’t infected.

The Thing is a terrific experience and I particularly enjoy repeat viewings to try to decipher its enigma. When one watches Alien, everything is straightforward and no questions are left unanswered. In The Thing, one has to understand that the Thing plans how and when it will reveal itself and who will be its next victim. The ending is a frustrating experience that awakens our hunger of knowledge, and I have yet to meet someone who doesn’t say “Is this how it ends?!”

If you like horror movies and mind boggling movies, then treat yourself: John Carpenter’s The Thing is your option.

HR

Three Key Factors in Successful Teams

By

On October 3, 2014

In General

Last week I had a full day five-day intensive management workshop where I was tossed in with five other people, four of them I had never seen in my life. It was a rewarding and entertaining experience, as knowledge and lessons came from many perspectives, ways and forms. Our team was one of eight competing for the launch of a major product. We were fortunate to build great success from what we were asked to deliver. We took the lead from day one and never looked back. In today’s entry, I will share the three factors that led us to win.

1. Decisions are a dish best serve cold.

Your daily routine is filled with crossroads and moments where you have to pick a path among various -sometimes a few, sometimes several- choices. While some of these decisions are easy and quite straight forward, others are filled with huge responsibility, implications and a weight that can be compared to a ton of bricks. So how does one make the best out of making a decision? Be Cold.

As unbelievable as it may sound, one of the most interesting things I read as a teenager was the Driver’s License study book. I was particularly impressed of learning that “driving under influence of external factors”, did not necessarily meaning drugs, alcohol or cigars. A simple fight with your boy/girlfriend, a job demotion, or any situation that could affect you emotionally and upset you, can set you in the mood to drive under the influence. The text read:

“When driving, you have to be concentrated. If you have been upset for any reason, DO NOT drive your car. Instead, take a 30 minute walk, preferably by yourself, and let yourself blow the steam away until you feel more calm.“

This piece of advise has stuck with me through the years. Moreover, I have been able to extrapolate it to managerial decisions.

Information to make an educated decision normally arrives after a period of waiting. Before committing to anything, take your time to analyze and interpret the data / factors / variables you have, along with the alternatives and options available to you. Sometimes you have to bring colleagues, or people who report to you, or even your own managers, each one with an opinion of his own that will either enforce or weaken your resources on hand. However, even with all of this information, you still need to make sure that you are making the right call. The bottom line is: if the responsibility of making the decision is yours, then your mind must be clear and able to think straight.

During one of the shifts in my workshop, we found ourselves at a crossroads and were faced with a dilemma: our company had been focusing on an exclusive target market and our products were performing very well and bringing higher revenue than that brought by the other teams’ products. Three of the other teams who were more oriented on mass-production, began running deals between them to try to catch-up to us, so our team decided to develop and launch a new product into the market. At this point we were faced with two choices:

  • Option 1: launch the new product aimed for a large target market with minimal profit betting on mass production (which meant diversifying our business and sailing into new uncharted waters).
  • Option 2: launch the new product aimed for an exclusive target market with huge profit (which meant staying true to our core business).

The team split into both options and the initial healthy discussion was going on fine, until a arguments to reinforce option 1 ensued. After about forty minutes of a heated discussion, I had enough. I got up and did exactly what I remember reading on that driving test book. I told my teammates: “I’m going for a 30-minute walk and you should do the same. Let’s go out and clear our heads. When we get back, we’ll make a decision”.

And so we did. The end result: our revenue increased.

2. Make sure you put the right people on the right seat

I will paraphrase some of the Jim Collins’ Good to Great. A team in a work environment is like people riding on a bus on a very very long trip. You want everyone to be comfortable sitting on their seats. Moreover, you want them sitting in the right seat.

Assuming you already went over the “building the team” stage and you have your players, what comes next is most important part of building your team: placing a player in the position where he will perform at their best, and where they will perform best for the team. This means:

  • The player is good at the job.
  • The player likes his job.
  • The job brings the best out of the player.

I address being past the “building the team” stage first, because it allows me to justify that if you haven’t built a team yet, then you have to remove the stigma that you exclusively need the best player at its position in order to succeed. While it’s definetily a plus to have someone who excells at a specific job, sometimes you’ll won’t be able to find this person as handy as you would like. That is why it’s more important that the player is good at the job, likes his job and performs as well if not better than what is expected from him.

Take a look at your team and ask yourself if your HR, your S&M, your Operations and your Finance VPs are giving it the best they can and with the passion that is comparable to the quality of their work.

This is why there are ocassions in sports in which the so called “underdog” teams are able to win championships:

The 2002 Anaheim Angels (MLB)
The 2004 Detroit Pistons (NBA)
The 2003-04 Porto UEFA Champions League run and eventual championship defeating heavily favorite teams.

Those teams had players who were not on par to some of the top stars of their leagues. but they performed best individually and even performed better within the team. Which brings me to the third crucial key factor.

3. Synergy

The easiest way to explain synergy is the tale of two short guys who wanted to reach an apple, but weren’t tall enough to do it on their own. So they decided to team up: one hopped on the shoulders of the other one, and then they were tall enough to grab it.

I have had the privilege of working with a lot of accomplished people, and one thing that has always struck me is the question of whether there has been an ideal perfect team among the many people I have worked with. Let’s assume the answer is yes. If this is the case you reached a utopia. However, this isn’t always the case.

When you first meet your team, you are facing a bunch of strangers. Therefore the one of your first steps is to determine if they are connecting with each other. This is why one has to work on developing synergy among the group. Finding something to relate to your teammates will break the ice, and start to bring more smile and laughs that are necessary to initially feed the atmosphere with positive attitude, and create that initial synergy. Of course this is only the beginning. Next comes the process of growing synergy and solidifying it.

After transmitting that bond to the person who is next to you, make sure that they do the same to the person next to them, so that each member in the team is able to create a bond. Once this goal is met, then comes the icing on the cake, which is that special moment when one team member asks the other one: “How can your performance be enhanced by mine, and more importantly how can his/her (referring to a third team member) performance be improved by ours.”

The best example I can think of perfect synergy applied in practice is Germany’s crushing demolition of Brazil in the 2014 World Cup. If you analyze how each German goal was conceived, you will agree that their team effort they displayed is arguably the one of the top performances seen in soccer history.

A commentator summed it all up in four smart sentences:

“Brazil has Neymar
Argentina has Messi
Germany… has a team.”

That’s where success is. That is how we won our workshop.

HR

Ten key factors to a successful negotiation

By

On May 29, 2014

In General

In my professional career, I have had the privilege of being involved in many situations where two or more parties meet and undergo hours of conversation with the objective of seeking an agreement, resolve differences, obtain a mutual benefit or satisfy interests at stake. These situations as you may have inferred, are referred to as Negotiations.

In my career I have been able to successfully reach achievements in negotiations, driven by unexpected results, dealing with conflict and working with unimaginable challenges. I have also had my fair share of failed results. Still in each and every one of those cases, my end goal consists of compiling the lessons I learned and use them to improve my skills as a negotiator, and exceed the expectations my clients and employers place on me. Some have dealt with money, others with contracts, labor, materials, and each one of them has left a valuable experience.

It’s not easy to close a good deal, however I have learned that as long as certain factors are considered, you may have a better chance of being able to achieve it. The more prepared you are on these factors, the easier or harder your negotiation will be.

1. Document yourself.

Countless times I have seen negotiations fail because the people dealing came to the table without being well-documented on the issue they dealing with. On the other hand, I have won dozens of successful negotiations only by having done my homework, and by being informed on all the variables I needed.

A typical deal in the business world is made up of four elements: business, operations, legal and sales / marketing. Any negotiator must document themselves on each one of these elements, due to the possibility of gaining a competitive advantage by properly understanding one or many of them. Compiling as most information as you can, and filtering what is useful is the first step towards a good deal. For instance: if my company is providing a service to a customer, and the customer is looking to take advantage of a specific clause in their contract, but I know service has been provided and my client has delayed payments, right there I have discovered an opening I can use in my favor. Therefore, I must be able to identify any potential weakness on the client’s end, and exploit it. He may do the same on my end, and that is where they key difference is: whoever is better prepared, will be the one determining the outcome of the battle.

2. Be respectful and mark your territory.

Some time ago, I was assigned a very complicated case in my company. It was a client who had two open lawsuits against us, and on paper, it seemed like the client had everything to win. My mission was to convince the client to settle out of court and reach a satisfactory agreement on how to compensate them. Thanks to a little research I conducted and from past history, I learned from my coworkers who had unsuccessfully dealt with them that this client had a very difficult personality and it was very hard to avoid having meetings with them without reaching the personal level of disrespecting and insulting us.

In this case the key element is to mark your territory through respect. First, have a strong and confident handshake: send the message right from the start, and let them know that: 1) There will be differences, however mutual respect must be kept at all times; and 2) Both parties oversee the interest of their respective stakeholders. While this is not a war, it must be treated with the strategic protocol of war.

Even after mediation is done, ugly faces are shown, and a few threats are issued, close your meeting by once again shaking hands with your counterpart. Again, this sends the message that you are leaving the door open for a future opportunity in which both interests may share common ground.

3. Break the ice

This may sound cliché and more geared towards a personal affair -like a date- than an actual professional negotiation, however in my experiences I have observed that breaking the ice carries a significant weight that can make a difference in a negotiation. Only on very punctual occasions (primarily due to time restrictions, or the gravity of the situation), you should not start a negotiation by going straight to the point.

Depending on the case, there are times where the stakes are high. There is tension, expectations and nerves around the table. There may be a key account or a big contract in jeopardy. The important thing here is understanding that outside what is being discussed, there are common interests that the people sitting on the table can share. There even may be a hobby or an outside of work activity we may have in common.

As a tennis player, I can make the analogy of how I play during the warm-up before starting a match. My goal is to keep the ball in play, not hitting it very hard, going as far as to try to read the ball’s label. It’s a relaxation ritual that precedes the real deal of a match. Before beginning your negotiation, take five minutes to talk about other topics with your client, with the sole goal of easing up the atmosphere.

4. Plan, organize, differentiate and lead

You must never get to a meeting without a plan or an order of what is it you are about to negotiate.

Suppose you have a client interested in negotiating financial terms, legal affairs and operational issues. Where do I start and how do I board it? What typically tends to happen is that negotiators mix everything up. For instance: “I won’t pay until you can guarantee this task is done.” If you accept this, you have fallen to a classical error where the client probably does not have any strong arguments, and is using anything as a support for their claims. The correct approach to respond to this is: “As long as we have a service contract, you have to pay for our service, regardless of what is happening from an operational standpoint.” Every item must be dealt with its own separate agenda.

Of course there are ways to avoid this, like starting with negotiating the issue you have a greater probability of winning. Deals that start on the right foot, most likely end-up well, therefore it is good to have a positive feeling from the get-go. In case a compromise is needed, then the correct approach should be: “I guarantee my operational service, and I will make sure you receive it”, and then proceed to the next point in the agenda -for instance, the financial aspect.

5. Keep focused and read the table

There have been several articles written about body language and tells. I have become familiar with a lot of them, and used many of their theories to my benefit.

As soon as the clock starts ticking, your main focuse should be about controlling everything that is happening with everyone involved. The three main aspects you should set your attention to are:

  • Eyes: these are the first reflex humans use to respond to any given situation. Make eye-contact at all times, especially when speaking affirmative sentences. Avoid blinking in excess or looking away in key moments.
  • Head: tilting your head, fixing yourself around, moving in an odd manner, are common evidences of distraction, uncomfortable feelings, anger, and disappointment. Keep a straight pose, but do not tense your muscles.
  • Voice tone and expression: similar to the above. Your voice determines how good or bad the conversation is flowing. Unless you are dealing with a very unique and special situation, there is no need to raise your voice. A confident tone is more than enough.

All these aspects must be managed collectively.

6. Express your ideas in a coherent and logical way. If you need to, amend and make revisions to your statements to be clearer.

Back when I was taking my MBA, on the first day of Mathematical Finance class, a classmate who was sitting next to me kindly asked me: “Hector, where does the number e come from?” She had a degree in psychology, and this was her first time seeing an alphabetical letter used as a symbol to represent a number.“

Since I majored in Math, I thought of hundreds of ways to respond to her. But since she was a psychologist, I needed something quick, concise and precise so that she could understand. My answer was: “It’s the base of the natural logarithm.” I could see the look on her face turning more confused than how it had been moments before she posed the question (notice how I used tip #5 listed above, and I was able to read the situation).

I apologized to her and grabbed pen and a piece of paper. I proceeded to explain the origins of the number using the problem raised by Jakob Bernoulli and compounded interest. At that point her body language completely changed for the better, because while not being able to understand the mathematical implications, she clearly understood the core reasoning behind the foundation of the number. Then I jumped to Euler’s identity, convergence of series, and finally the main reason why e is the base of natural logarithms. At this point her body language showed relief and satisfaction, and she was even able to recite the explanation I just gave her, while at the same time completely understanding it.

While this was not a negotiation per sè, the key element to highlight here was that I was able to immediately recognize that I had made a mistake, and that I was able to reassess and revise myself in order to reach the desired objective.

Sometimes in negotiations, people assume things or take things for granted, believeing that affirmations are implicit or given when in reality they are not. Therefore, being able to express yourself in a coherent way will make you earn several positive points, because this will show that you have deep understanding of what is being discussed.. Being able to rectify, is even better received, because you will be seen as someone open to improve. However do not revise too much, as this will be seen as a sign of weakness or poor preparation on your end.

7. Act when you perceive weakness, listen when you see strength.

It has been said that sharks go for their preys when they smell blood. The same happens in business. If you have followed all of the above steps, eventually you will reach a point where the other person will show a sign of weakness. This is the moment where you have to take the offensive and attack. Everyone has a weakness, you just have to find it. This is because on every negotiation, everyone sits down to win something and to lose something, and you need strengths and weaknesses, otherwise it wouldn’t be a negotiation. Special attention must be given when I mention act. Sometimes negotiators freeze and do not react in time, or react when it’s too late.

When the other party is on the offensive and feels strong, then regroup yourself, let him lead, let him talk and ventilate. Look at them, pay attention to what they say and be aware of any tell or hint they may give away. Normally this tends to allow me to have the opportunity of gaining the initiative. Be an active listener and follow their lead, until you can take it from them

8. Keep an Ace under your sleeve

Another cliché, but it is never bad to refresh it. Personally I like to say “Keep an Ace, or a King, a Queen or a Jack under your sleeve”, as in “keep something”, or “use one, but keep the rest for future occasions.”

A little subtle tip to keep in mind is to keep your best card for the final hand, the hand the client was not expecting to lose. This brings excellent results when everything seems lost, and the other party feels they have won.

On one occasion, I was meeting with a very important client who had all his portfolio serviced by out company. He was extremely upset with our company, with the previous manager who had preceded me, with our workers’ performance, and overall he was a few seconds away from pulling a bat and start swinging it at us. He wanted to cancel our contract and sign a new one with our competitor. I tried everything I could to try to convince him not to do so, but everything seemed to be futile. Then I had an idea. I asked him to give us a last chance with an interesting kicker. I said to him: “Don’t give my company a last chance. Give ME a last chance to prove that our company will serve your needs. Sign all your portfolio to our competitor, except for 10% of the accounts which will remain in contract with our company, under my direct supervision and attention.” The kicker was that the 10% of the accounts I wanted to keep were his VIP Key Accounts. I continued: “We will do a small competition to determine who provides you with a better service: either our competitor with 90% of all your non-VIP portfolio, or us to your VIP clients.” The client did not expect that. After a long pause, he agreed to my proposition. Two years later, he signed the 90% of his accounts back to us and he became one of our best clients, and a very good friend.

9. Only promise something you can fulfill

If you have reached this stage of the negotiation, don’t party just yet. There is still work to be done, and your word is on the line. There are agreements, objectives and goals that must be met. The question is: will you be able to deliver?

Nobody likes being disappointed. This is something that is imbedded in our DNA. No kid like it when Santa Claus forgets their present. False expectations are fatal in negotiations, and no client likes it when their expectations are not fulfilled.

This is why you must have a firm grasp on reality, on the current situation and the desired state, as well as the resources you have available to arrive to the desired state. Your client will value much more your sincerity in being able to tell them that you will not be able to meet their goals, rather than any illusions you paint on their minds.

10. Show yourself as a confident leader and trust yourself

One of the most interesting anecdotes I read from Steve Jobs’ biography, was when he announced the sales launch of Apple’s first personal computer. He had zero computers manufactured at that point. Steve sold a product he didn’t even have ready in his hands. How did he achieve this? He was confident his team could do it, and he trusted himself that he could lead them to do it.

Steve convinced investors, journalists, and everyone in attendance that Apple’s personal computer was the best invention of the century. Years later, Steve used this exact same approach to launch the iPhone in 2007.

Wrapping it all up:

In short – trust yourself on being a good negotiator. Show what you have learned. Feel that you can achieve anything you set your mind into.

HR

Nine useful tips to follow when you fly

By

On October 19, 2012

In General

I have been travelling a lot recently, which to many is a wonderful experience while to others it is almost painful. During my voyages I see a lot of situations -some usual, some unusual- which brings me to the topic I want to write about today: I wanted to provide some insight about the whole travelling experience of flying.

The first thing I would like to share are the three rules I use when flying:

1. Prepare yourself for anything.

There are dozens of unexpected events that can happen to you when flying: lost luggage, late luggage, being searched by customs, missing items in your bags, broken locks, delayed flights and so on. The list is so big that almost every time I fly I add a new unexpected event. On one of my most recent flights, there was a woman sitting two rows behind me who had probably never flown before. As the plane started to taxi its way to take-off, she had a panic attack: she started yelling, coughing, and eventually threw up in the isle. When assistance came over her, she started asking questions about the noises the plane was making -setting up the flaps, turning up the engines-. In order to calm her, a stewardess had to sit down with her through the rest of the trip.

2. Be patient, extremely patient.

Flying from town to town means going through a lot of experiences, beginning with all the queues. Although some airports are quicker than others, queues can be demanding both physically and mentally. That is why if you breathe and be patient, you can turn them into a relaxing and easy going experience. I believe that with a bit of common sense and travelling education, there would be a lot of improvement in interacting with all these tough assignments.

3. Travel light on carry on, heavy on checked bags.

The more comfortable you are with your carry on, the smoother your day will go. Keep in mind you have to walk long distances in the airport to catch your plane, to go to the bathroom, go eat, catch the new gate of your flight after there was a gate change, and so on. Also, it is quicker to pass the security checkpoints, not only for you but for the people behind you. Place everything you can in the bags you intend to check, and leave only light items on your carry on. By the way, try to have just one carry on.

4. Buy smart bags.

Ahh… the existential question of determining if your bag meets the 50 pound limit. The trick here lies in the bag, not the shopping. Years ago I bought myself one of these extra large tennis bags, which I consider the best investment I have done when we talk about flying. It’s a huge bag that has lots of room, but more importantly the bag itself weighs less than three pounds. The problem with excess weight is that people buy bags that are heavy as a standalone. Any regular sized bag can weigh around ten or fifteen pounds, meaning that it takes close to 30% of the weight limit. So next time you plan to buy something, do yourself a favor and buy a huge and light large bag.

5. Pack wisely.

The #1 mistake people make when travelling is buying (or bringing) inappropriate stuff, not because of their nature but because how dysfunctional their packing is. Try as not to bring heavy items: jeans, lotions, creams, metal objects, books, and overall any combination of high density low volume. Instead, pack more efficient items for your trip.

6. Do not underestimate being organized.

What does that mean? Fold! Don’t just throw in you clothes. Take your time and fold them nicely and properly. The reward will be breathtaking. You will have lots of free space for those extra items you didn’t believe were possible you could fit, and this will enable you to take full advantage of your bag’s size. If you are carrying something delicate, then use your clothes to protect it from the corners and borders.

7. Take your time to exit the plane.

People like to get up, get their carry-on, and push to exit as soon as the plane arrives at its gate. Sometimes they even do it as soon as the plane touches the runway. Unless you are sitting on first class or have some sort of express exiting arrangement, the most likely scenario is that you will leave the plane only to find yourself on a queue to pick up your luggage -which can come randomly-. If you are flying international, you have to go through immigration -another line-. I have lost count how many times I have seen people rush their way out of the plane, with me being one of the last passengers to exit, only to run into them later when I see them waiting for their bags or their clearance or anything. One time, a lady sitting next to me asked if I could help her get her carry on because she was late for an appointment. I helped her, but as I had seen countless times before, she exited the plane first, and left the airport last.

8. Light shoes, sweatpants and sweaters.

Unless you are under a formal protocol, like your company’s VP is picking you up at the airport, or if you yourself are in a position that requires a certain protocol, you should dress in loose, light clothing. Wearing expensive shoes, belts or cufflinks, earrings, can become a hassle during the security checkpoints. Besides, it’s so comfortable to travel in a nice warm sweater that even serves as a pajamas in case you want to take a nap.

9.  Be nice and have empathy.

Flying is stressful for a lot of people. Some people enjoy it, some people don’t. Regardless of the background, you don’t normally know what’s in the mind of the person next to you (or behind or in-front of you). I always approach flying with a very relaxed and loose mindset, and I try to make the best out of it on any occasion. Of course as I mentioned earlier, every now and then something unexpected can happen: one time I was making my way towards my seat. I placed my carry on, confirmed it was the right seat, jumped in, and buckled my seat belt. I took off my shoes, I placed my headphones on my ears, turned on my playlist and closed my eyes. I fell asleep for about fifteen minutes when all of a sudden I felt someone grabbing my shoulder. As I opened my eyes, I saw a woman signaling to me if I wanted to switch seats with her because she wanted to sit next to her daughter, who was sitting next to me. Under normal circumstances I would have accepted, but on that particular day I had just came from an 11-hour connecting flight, with no sleep at all. I was exhausted to the point of being unable to summon any energy to move. I politely declined, explaining to her that I was tired. To say that she went berserk and got mad at me would be an understatement. She probably assumed that I was supposed to accept her request with no questions asked. I felt like I was nice to her, but she didn’t have empathy for me. And again, I normally do not mind giving my seat to people who want to sit next to someone, but on that particular occasion my little seat felt like heaven to me and I did not feel like giving it away.

Wrapping it all up!

These useful tips make up for a very pleasant travelling day every time I fly. I hope you liked my suggestions and let me know if you have more to add to my list.

HR

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