Dealmaking for Corporate Growth

Different cultures and nationalities use different methods, processes and communication styles in dealmaking, but from the beginning of time humans have been striking deals to facilitate family, trade, community and national best interests. Although cultural differences make the deal landscape even more interesting and sometimes challenging, the key elements that facilitate a deal – selling, persuading, negotiating and signing a contract – are the same the world over. Companies around the world will continue to grow, refocus, merge – and, sometimes, retrench – through making deals. As a result, given the increasing interconnectivity – technological and otherwise – of the world’s businesses, the risks of not having a good dealmaker at the helm will increase. The need for business leaders and decision-makers to be able to effectively identify a deal’s strategic, financial and operational value and then to execute and manage it efficiently will only accelerate in this ever-competitive world. But dealmaking is not limited to CEOs. To varying degrees and at different times, we all strike deals in business. Every person or organization engages in dealmaking at some point. Dealmaking is an active and deeply practical skill. It requires flexible and adaptable listening, reading, absorbing and summarizing skills. Given that selling and negotiating are innate human abilities, the premise of this book is that these, and other related, dealmaking skills can be significantly enhanced by following some proven steps. This book explains the dealmaking process in a logical, step-by step way, and will help the reader to successfully execute business deals. The 7 P approach to successful business deal execution involves: Principles: Some dealmaking fundamentals; Planning: If you fail to plan, you plan to fail; Power: The power balance is pivotal to the deal; Players: Who is who on both sides of the deal; Performance: Deal performance is all; Putting it all to Bed: The deal close is critical; Pay-out or Post-mortem: Win or lose, learn for the next time. DEALMAKING FOR CORPORATE GROWTH also includes a Foreword by Marshall Goldsmith, New York Times bestselling author of Triggers and What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, two of Amazon.com’s ‘100 Best Leadership and Success Books to Read in a Lifetime’.