A long walk as a metaphor for a deal journey in business world

Posted on: September 17th, 2018

deal journey Walking along ancient paths is a primitive form of getting somewhere. With no digital assistance, you simply go with the pack and watch guideposts that point the way.

Along the path, there is a lot of visual inputs – lush valleys and sweeping vistas- to absorb.

Despite the appeal of the outdoors, this doesn’t seem the type of activity that could lead anywhere intellectually. Yet as you proceed, the sound of your footsteps and the cadence of your breathing sets a rhythm in motion and you begin to settle in and relax.

Soon the experience allows you to escape your daily grind and get to a higher level of thinking. Once you’ve you landed here, you are free from the noise and distraction that traps you daily. You are unencumbered to clearly assess where you are and where you want to go.

What a 72.5 mile/ 5-day trek teaches you is that there is tremendous value in submitting to a routine that will take you a way from it all. Each leg of the journey had its own flavor, its own set of lessons.

Some miles you’ll grasp the obvious, other miles you will begin to wrap your mind around the contours of something quite big. Doing deals is like a long-distance walk.

Each step is a learning experience, and the milestones clearly point the way to the destination. What tools can we use to tap into a process to expand our awareness and become smarter along the journey. Here are 4 tips to help change your deal interactions into higher level knowledge:

Learn the stories from each one’s journey – deals are done by people with interesting entrepreneurial histories. Dig into the big challenges they faced and learn the two or three pearls of wisdom they have to offer from their journey.
Establish a soothing communication rhythm to the journey – much like the combination of footsteps and breathing, establish a relaxed and regular way to dialogue with clients. This will strengthen your relationship, gain their trust and allow them to confide in you. This will lead to a smoother journey for everyone.
Focus on the lessons learned from each stage – each step of the deal journey offers a rich learning about performance, communication, psychology, and human nature. Take the time to process each lesson and store them for future usage as many lessons are universally common.
Slow the journey down for critical decisions – deals can be highly emotionally charged and often parties are not in the same office. Before making major decisions, it pays to reflect and fill in as many of the missing pieces of info as possible.

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