写这篇博客，是因为很多人问我行情怎么样，我想可以分享一下。

行情是一个我常用的口头禅。经常会问朋友，”最近行情怎么样?”  有些人会误认我在问他们的股票的行情等等。我本身完全不涉足这类金融投资产品，行情，在我看来，只是职业、经济状况的统称。这么职业或经济也就代表了对方至少1/3的生活。

很多人问我，像我这样的公司，在经济不景气的行情下会不会受到影响。这必然会的，只是我还没有感觉出来。主要的原因是，我还是觉得我们有做不完的项目，还是不敢随意接新的项目，因为接了之后，做不出来，就傻了。

Techsailor 一直说要保证质量。其实，我们这个质量，不单单是我们的做出来的网站的质量，更多的是服务质量。老实说，我们做的网站，经过专业的人一测，还是会有很多的毛病还是可以改进的地方，但是我们的服务质量都是着手在一些小小的方面做起，让客户知道我们非常在乎他们的项目。举个简单的例子，我经常喜欢半夜跟美国的客户开会。一方面时差上有区别，更多的是，我要让他们感觉到，他们不用把时差当成一个问题，而是一个优点。按照他们的时间，12点开完会，我们早上10点开做，他们第二天上班就看到我们把东西做好了。给他们的感觉就是，我们24小时都在工作。客户发email给我们，一分钟内回复，跟两个小时后回复，虽然都是使用同样的时间，但是在客户看来，这差别非常的大。有些人说高质量需求更多的付出，对于服务行业，质量很多时候，只是对资源，包括时间在内，更好的组织罢了。

好的服务不代表客户说什么我们就做什么。很多时候，我很想跟客户大吵一架，把他们骂一遍再来谈需求。我的意思是，我们把客户的事情当作自己的事情来做，如果自己都不满意，肯定不能做。这样，我们做出来的网站，偶尔会让客户觉得超出他们的期望。

服务质量除了带给我们小额多余的工作量，也带给我们口碑，一个最好的销售、市场推广渠道。我们很少做销售，虽然还是有做，但那些真真正正签合约的，基本上都是在第一个会议就在谈需求和维护服务了。

老实说，Techsailor就是这么简单，我想不出其他原因，为什么我们会有源源不绝的项目可以做，为什么人手永远都不够，为什么行情这么不好我们还是有东西可以做。当然，源源不绝不代表我们赚的钱很多，反而，由于对质量要求比较高，我们不得不减少接项目，少赚点钱。这就是Techsailor目前最大的挑战，怎么做才能够接受多点项目。

也有些人经常跟我说，我们做网站这一行的现时行情竞争很大，不好做，我觉得，这也是一个借口，做网站博大精深，到现在Techsailor 都只是入门罢了，怎么会有竞争很大的情况呢？不是每个人都做得来的啊。就好像很多人都会打篮球，但是要打到职业化，是很不容易的啊，所以不是每个 ”会打篮球的人” 都可以参加比赛，不是每个人会点HTMl和编程就可以做网站。需要成熟的技术积累，需要对网站的一个专业的敏感度、需要有服务质量。

而我们的销售靠的是服务质量形成的口碑。行情虽然不怎么样，但是总有些人想要做网站，总有些人能够介绍他们给Techsailor, 这就是我们得以生存的原因。当然，我们真的只是停留在得以生存的阶段，如果服务质量可以保证的情况下，真希望能够多接一点项目来做啊。

Wuvist 跟我说做RCB的时候，我想都没有想，就说好。原因只有一个，我喜欢有争议性的东西。很多人都喜欢有争议性的东西。而至今，没有任何一个网站能够把争议性的东西做得好，而有争议性的网站，通常不会差到哪里去。

争议的话题，有时候需要一个结论，有时候不需要结论，但是越多人参加，争议的话题就会有深度，就能够发掘出更多隐藏的内涵，甚至真相，而以至得出来的结论非常的有说服力。这就是集体的智慧。如果从现在起，80% 的人指着一只狗说这是一只猫，逐渐的，这只狗就真的成了猫了，先不管它是不是真的成了一只会喵喵叫的猫，慢慢得别人就会习惯，猫也会汪汪叫的。这就是公众舆论的力量。

 我相信这个世界上，至少网络上，有道德的人多过没道德的人。如果能够通过这个媒体来让这些有道德的人声音更大，这样有道德就会很快成为一种社会风。有道德Cool! 或许这样能够推动国家的道德建设。这也是RCB的宗旨。

我非常喜欢胡锦涛说的八荣八耻，第一次听到的时候，好像听到别人唱Rap 一样，觉得“好Cool”. 慢慢的斟酌，觉得胡万岁的总结很中肯，而做为国家主席高高在上的他，能够提出如此中肯的话，说明他与社会的接触非常的接近。我们可以不管谁讲了这些话，这些话有道理。RCB是一个把八荣八耻精神推广落实的具体方案，一个非常有中国特色的web 2.0 网站。

不能不做。

Case 4 September 19, 2006 Wharton

Sometimes, there are some situations are just not negotiable, unless we are able to create new values that enlarge our bargaining zones to have intersection.

This is a lesson I learned through this case. it is a normal case. I have to sell a jeep and the buyer wants to buy a jeep. However, he can only afford an amount which I am able to accommondate with. and we could not reach a conclusion. I was wondering that is really weird. He saw my advertisement and i have put a price there and yet he said he did not have enough money for that kind of price. I could not believe that and i was scared that could be a trap. I was firmed and he was firmed. I tried to explore other values which i can afford but not reducing the amount of cash i will get. None of them struck the bell. he did not want to tell what he really wants. or, i could not trust him. I was pretty defensive in negotiation.

Professor Blum gave us his definition of negotiation:
"A negotiation is an interactive communication process that potentially take place whenever you want something from somebody or they want something from you. "

It struck me indeed. In his definition, everything in life, almost every communication with another party is a negotiation. I must admit that I have prepeception of the negativity of negotiation. See how the two words assemble each other at the first place. To a person for whom English is a second language, negotiate ~ negative. Haha, joke aside. In Chinese, people only "negotiate" when there is bad things happen. Well, but bargaining is a life long activity. My mum is a high standard "Walk Out" player and I started to see her walk out strategy since 5 years old when she brought me to buy my brother's 8 years'birthday gift, a small basketball.  The "walk out" worked so well that now I still remember. So, negotiation is part of our life. However, I want to redefine it as:

"A negotiation is an interactive communication process that potentially initiates exchange of values between people".

Sorry Professor Blum, but I feel that my definition is more succint, to the point and accurate. "whenever you want something from somebody or they want something from you." sounds weird to me. Take an example of robbery. A robber wants to rob a passenger on the road. He does want something from the passenger and he shows  his knife or gun to pass a message to the passenger that he is threatening and dangerous. The passenger sends back message that he is shocked and scared. It is an interactive communication process that potentially takes place when the robber wants money from the passenger. So is it considered as a "negotiation"? There is no exchange of value and it is a zero sum interaction. I guess, by common sense, it is not a negotiation. If there is thing called Bargaining Zone, then "or" should change to "and". Both sides must benefit in one way or another for a negotiation to takes place and end with a deal.

"Rexis，为了中秋吃月饼，也许现在可以开始减肥了~"

看到这句话，我要感慨一下。说真的，我最近真的是在减肥，而且今天称了一下，发现我最近做得最成功的就是这件事了。三个星期前我的体重是80公斤。是的，我真的很胖。而且在美国，很容易胖。基本上，很多时候都是Pizza, burger...连续吃很多天。吃到体形都有点像汉堡包了。

不知道什么时候，看别人减肥，我也开始减。都说了，我是一个喜欢效仿的人。于是我就开始减肥。一开始是开始吃少，过了两天觉得没有作用，毛了。开始不吃晚饭了。很惊叹自己的决心。我一直认为，如果让我不吃晚饭，还不如把我枪毙了算了。可是偏偏我就能不吃晚饭了。不如说今晚我就没有吃晚饭。我的上一餐是下午三点的午饭，而且到今天已经有三个星期了。除了偶尔跟朋友出去吃饭应酬，基本上，还真的是一直没有吃晚饭。肚子饿了基本上是喝东西，还是吃水果...水果量还是照常，不多。而且，我现在喜欢上了吃Salad...

感慨一下。什么时候我终于看破了... 我现在的体重，是72公斤, 标准得不得了。跟我4年前在JC一样。Technically speaking, 这几年没有长大过....估计现在华初校服拿出来穿，就可以跳mass dance了...

当然，整个过程，显然没有这么简单。我花了不少功力去克服困难。而我用得最多的，除了效仿，另外就是Visualization.

因为有朋友也在减肥，所以我每次想要吃东西，我就会去努力去想，如果现在换成是谁谁，会不会吃呢？不会。那么我也不要吃。要不然别人可以减肥，我不可以，多差劲。于是，胸有大志的我，就可以说服自己不知东西。这就是效仿的力量。

另外，我找了一个偶像，于是我选了比较瘦的吴彦祖，然后把他的形象visualize成我减肥之后的形象(如果这么好就好了），然后往那个目标看齐。于是除了坚持饮食方式，我的运动量也增加了...

于是，我有了一个标志性的成功。当然，这只是一个充满鼓励性的开始。我这个人野心很大。现在减肥了，我就想更多了。于是，我要让这个良好的方式成为一种习惯。我要有吴彦祖的身材。哈哈。我可以做到。至于中秋吃月饼... .... ...

Case 3   September 14, 2006 Wharton

This case was interesting, exciting and dramatic. I was again a seller. Being an entrepreneur, most of my time is in selling rather than buying. Well. Not really true. But selling gives me more satisfaction then buying.

Preparation
I sold a car, sold a truck and this time I was selling an aircraft Cessna, my father, a retired pilot’s best friend in the sky. He used to teach flying lesson. My opponent is Jordan, a senior from Wharton. Like many Wharton seniors, he is confident and self-assertive. I expect him to be a tough negotiator and he may use tricks. I must be very careful in dealing with him.

I do not have much information about him though he came for a test fly. I must find out more about him.

1. Why does he want to buy the aircraft? What does he use it for?
2. Is he an experienced pilot?

3. Did he own an aircraft before? If he did, why he is no longer using it?

4. How did he feel about the test flight?
5. What are the most important factors and features he is looking for in an aircraft he wants to buy? Does Cessna fit his requirement?

Recently I was listening to an audio book by Guy Kawasaki in how to build a good foundation in doing investment and he mentioned a point: To become a successful investor, the first mind set that one must have is having no fear. One must not fear to lose. Then he can reduce the distraction to minimum and focus on how to invest instead of how not to lose. I quite agree with Kawasaki and I am going to try out this concept in negotiation. I must be confident and convince myself to act as if I am the one who has a lot of leverages and who is at the advantageous side. In this particular case, I want to project an image to show that I am the seller, but I am not a seller that begs the buyer to buy my aircraft; Instead, my aircraft is so good that I want to choose whom I want to sell it to.  So, to set up the stage, I changed the story to tell the buyer.

1. My father was a great pilot and he loves his aircraft. He cannot fly Cessna anymore but he wants to sell the aircraft to someone who can take care of the aircraft. So, the buyer must not only offer a decent price to show that he is sincere and respectful, he must be a good pilot and he can take care of aircraft.

2. I have offers from second dealer and my father’s teenager student. They are both pretty high price. However, my father and I are still considering. Second dealer does not appreciate the true value of Cessna and they just want to make money. The teen loves the aircraft because he learned how to fly using it. But he is not that kind who will take good care of it.

3. I am not in a hurry to sell the aircraft (which in fact, I am very urgent to sell it away). I want to find the best buyer and sell it to him without hesitation.

Well. Again, I am going to lie… I feel so sick of myself lying. But that is the game. I lie because I want to make a better deal. Monkey See Monkey Do and Create a sense of urgency were the first two things I learned when I was a direct salesman 3 years ago in Singapore. Yes. That time, after high school and before college, I sold watches on the street. This maybe something I want to talk about in another journal.

So how do I use Monkey See Monkey Do in this case, I am pretending that someone are also offering a price and wanting to buy the aircraft. To get a deal done, he must be sincere enough to at least offer a comparable price. This is not exactly Monkey See Monkey Do though.

How do I create a sense of urgency in this case? I pretend that I am not in a hurry. The buyer saw my advertisement and then straight away came for test flying. He must be keeping an eye on sales of aircraft for sometime already and he called back means that he thinks this is a good deal for him. He likes the plane therefore he called back. Buying a plane is like choosing a wife. Besides its look and performance, it must be reliable and trust worthy. It must be so nice and smooth that you will not be freaked out by it, not even once. When you are up in the sky, the only thing you have to rely on is the plane. So if he likes the plane and he is looking for one, he wants to get the deal done. If I show him I also want to get the deal done, he may sense that I am urgent. So instead, I must be calm and put him into the more urgent side. When you are tall and someone standing besides is not tall, you feel that you are taller.

I am not going to open the offer. But I want him to know the price range suggested by Price Digest and what price other people are offering me (which is fake) to let him know what kind of price I am looking for. But I want to pass a strong message to him that price is not all I care about. His offer is an indicator of how much he respects the deal. So in that case, I have stronger support on bargaining over price not appearing to be very meticulous about money. To show his respect, he will not dare to anyhow bargain for a cheaper price. There is a bench mark he must set. Besides, I will have a reason to crap about if I need to lower the price. Say If I told him someone else is offering 140,000 and realized that he cannot afford it. I have to lower down. And then it will be very obvious that I was lying. Normally, if I have an offer of 140,000, I will never sell to another one who can only pay less. So looking for a quality buyer is an excuse I can use. Haha.

Progress

The opening speech of the deal talking is very important. I did not prepare too much but it is something I must pay attention to next time.

Expected, Jordan is a tough guy to negotiate with. He used what I call BOW (“Bang on the Weakness) method and try to shoot down and demerit the aircraft. However, it seems that I have better knowledge in aircraft than him and I was able to counter his story. I took the position over by asking whether he is really a pilot. Then I start to ask those questions I drafted and slowly dig out more information about him.  Three things I found important. Firstly, he lied too and more than me. I stared into his eyes and I know he is lying sometimes. So I did not feel that bad for my lies. Secondly, he likes the aircraft and Cessna has the most important feature he is looking for and that is safety. Cessna is an aircraft my father used to teach and of course it is safest aircraft he can find. So I keep go back to the point. To drill the message through, my plane has what you want and it is reasonable for you to pay a higher price for it.

So after the quality negotiation, we came to the price negotiation. I must put the price high to maintain my position. So I insisted at least 130,000. Then say I will give a symbolic discount to 129,000. He insisted 123,000. Suddenly, he played a classis strategy “Walk Out”. He left his phone number to me and asked me to think about it. Very nice “Walk Out” and I knew he planned it.   So he planned it. If he did not plan it and just did it on the spot, I might be stunned but since he planned it, he expected me to go back to him to compromise and if I do not, he will be the one who panics.

I did not reply him that night. On the way back I formularized a strategy in my mind. I would wait until 30 mins before the deadline (when the next lesson starts) and I am going to make an offer. I sent him a message on 9:40 a.m. in the morning.

“Jordan, I make an offer to you. $128200. If you are sincere enough and reply me as early as possible, I give you a discount of $50 for every minute you reply earlier than 10:00, after that, I will increase the price $10 for every minute.” Immediately I received his reply “done!”  It was 9:49 and the deal price was $127,650. I was fine with it. The mechanism of the my offer is, my bottom line of the offer is $127,500 which is the middle point of 120,000 and 135,000 indicated in the price digest. And my surplus comes from his lateness in replying. I was very confident he would take my deal.

This case is interesting especially it was spiced by the Walk Out and Handpone Message Timing Deal. Both of us have read the Henris Kravis Deal on RJR and we were trying to replay it. My conclusion is that negotiation is an exciting high intelligent game.

A few lessons I learned in this case.

1. Jordan tried to play "Walk Out" but he did not play it well. I could sense his "Walk Out" was planned and that was the worst  mistake. If i were to play "Walk Out", i must have 100% confidence. "Walk Out" is harmful and risky. It also spoinls relationship and hard to bring back the negotiation to the table. However, in real life we do a lot of "Walk Out". My mum often does that. "Walk Out" has different types which I also want to discuss out that.

2. I must prepare an opening speech for my next negotiation. A opening speech can tune the whole negotiation into the way i want it to be. If i want it to be a violent fight, I can be violent since the beginning and infuriate the oppponent; If i want to make it as a calm and problem-solving approach negotiation, then I must demostrate it too.

3. Guy Kawasaki was right. No fear of losing makes me very comfortable and calm througout the whole process.

Start High and Concede Slowly as a Seller

In Shell's book, he pointed out that through experiements, "start high and concede slowly" has been proved to be the best approach to transactional bargaining.

In fact, I feel that it works even better for negoation that relationship are deemed to be very important and can be used even more easily.

Take the example from his book. Assuming we don't know each other, if i want you to pay me $50 for something and I open with a demand $75 (supported by a presentable argument about prices that "others have paid"), my $50 finall offer look reasonable by comparison with my opening. If I  had opened at $55 instead of $75, and moved down only five dollars before I stopped, you would be less likely to think that you had gotten a bargain. Remember, the effect is like "you likely think that you got a bargain". Okay. that sounds good.

Change the scenario. Assuming we are good friends and I want to sell something to you. you want to pay me $50 for something. Say if I open at even higher $85 and I act innocent that I thought that is the reasonable price. Then you says that your budget is only like $50. I can pretend to be upset to hear about this price but i will say, "Wow! that is so different! But, what can I say, you are my friend. Take it, just give me $50 will be enough." And then, you will feel bad if you reject me, you have to take the deal. and you may even feel, "Rex is such a nice guy. I owe him one."

From experience,  Start High and Concede Slowly is a very good negotiation technique for between acquaintances. well... but will you treat your friends like that? so, most of the time, i will prefer give it for free then sell it to friends, unless it is something i cannot easily afford...

Wuvist说, "据说物质是不灭的……当一个人“获取”一些东西的时候，我想，必然也就意味着有别人失去同样数量的东西……当你挖到了第一桶金，别人也就失去了一桶金……"

这是胡扯。我们假定物质是不灭的，那么，物质是非常地丰富的，它们正等着我们不断去发掘，把看起来没有什么作用的物质，通过创新的方法，转化成为有作用，有价值的物质。当你挖到了第一桶金，你把看似泥土的金矿，通过耐心的汰选、锻炼，变成了一桶金，于是这个世上又多了一桶金在流通。从价值链的首端开始到价值链的最后一端，这桶金不断地在创造价值。不过，如果换一种说法，当你抢了别人一桶金的时候，别人也就失去了一桶金。 这时候，你并不是什么上进、有道德、成功的人，你只是一个没有人品的贼，一个堕落的地球人。

虽然一直跟Wuvist合作，很多时候基本上没有任何矛盾，跟他不同的是，我却是希望做一个自强不息、止于至上的人。我希望可以成为一个有作为的人，为人类社会的发展做出贡献。而我这种决心，就恰恰跟Wuvist那种决心成为猪的信念一样强烈，甚至比他还强。唯一遗憾的，就是我知道我只有有限的智慧，有限的精力，有限的时间。所以，学习、效仿以及体验就成为了最有效的方法。

我很崇拜、佩服Bill Gates、Michael Dell、李嘉诚、黄光裕，等等……崇拜/佩服的理由不是因为这些人很成功、很有钱。而是因为这些人有决心去奋斗，有勇气去承担社会责任，帮助推动社会的发展。Spider Man 里面有一句话讲得很好，能力越大，责任也就越大。很多人会认为，这些人在人生中得到了很多东西，他们奋斗是为了自己的富裕，自己的荣耀。是，连Wuvist 也不得不同意 “人，是渴望被别人认同的……”他们希望被认为是有能力的人，成功的人，一种满足感，就跟你吃面包鸡吃完之后很满足那种感觉几乎是一样的。然而，除了吃面包鸡，他们还有勇气去承担沉重的社会责任。他们任何一个决定，都会影响到很多人的生活。也是因为他们的决定，他们带动了很多人的生活。这是一种社会责任感。他们除了吃面包鸡，他们还有能力，有想法希望别人也能一起吃面包鸡。这就是一个伟大的人与普通人的区别了。我学习他们这种生活态度。

伟大的人不自私，自私的人不伟大。

“如果我跟你一样，认同了你的价值观，从此不再做胸无大志的猪而兢兢业业的去做一个上进的人，那么，这意味着你被我认同了，而且，你会因为我的这种认同而感觉更加良好……

对于这个说法，我只能简单的说，“胡扯”。通过这个说法，我让有这个想法的人知道，你的观点不被认同，所以，你应该感觉良好。如果你希望你的观点被认同然后感觉良好的话，那么说明，我们都还是地球人。我们还有被认同的欲望。

胸有大志的人在某种程度下，特别是容易受到比自己"好"的人刺激。“好”有很多方面，智商高，家庭条件好，机遇好，年龄条件好，长得比较好看，人际关系好等等等等。凡是能够在成功机会、或是成功程度上拉开距离的，都是一种刺激。特别是对于年轻一点的，就好像我跟Wuvist这类的人，更是容易受到刺激。刺激本身是中性词，我们怎么掌握它，会决定它成为有建设性的东西，还是有破坏性的东西。

"现在工作了……很多人都对我的工资很感兴趣……虽然公司强调“工资保密制”，但是，我在从事与公司业务无关的朋友问起的时候，我一般都是直接说出我的月薪的……但是，很奇怪……有的人听了之后，总是要说一下惊讶、鄙视我、或者为我不值的言语出来……噢……其实，你们如果不说的话，我并不觉得我拿得很少……";  "是的……人比人气死人……当那些赚钱比我多的人在我面前炫耀的时候，我自然感觉不爽……有时甚至会认为自己很失败……"

在William College 享受生活的杰少（曹华杰）说了一句很对的话 "生活要有质量“. 当然，估计从William College 出来的人都会享受生活。首先，赚得很多的人，他们工作的质量如何？他们每天是不是受很多气？看很多人脸色？忙到要死要活？上班得穿到生龙活虎，不像我们的短裤拖鞋？如果他们工作得很好，那么恭喜他们，他们机遇好。

那么，我们如何为自己创造机遇呢？最好的把握机遇的事情，回报最多的，就是创业。哈哈。我绕了一大圈，回到了原点。创业的人从来不会为了别人多好多好而郁闷。真正喜欢创业的人会想，等我的东西做大了，你们这些小卒子就会后悔当年浪费青春了。其实，我还真的是很自大... 而创业的人，每个人都相信自己的东西可以做大。这样的生活质量如何？好得不得了。每天都生活在充满热情、冲劲和希望心态里面。同时，创业的人也是最down to earth, 因为什么东西都是从零开始,所以，不会半掉在空中 -- 深怕掉下来，又爬得不快。

从我们身边的人，在相比之下，可以学习到很多东西。比如说，我一直很佩服Wuvist如果开始学习一种新的技术，新的东西，可以全身心地投入到自己认为很high. 这一点我一直努力效仿，慢慢的也成为了我的asset. 我一直很佩服老猫处理压力的方式，所以我暴饮暴食的坏习惯就是老猫给的... 还好我比较少剃光头... 我一直很喜欢俊乐那种简单、整洁却又投入的思想和生活方式，我努力的效仿。do one thing and do it well. 然后家亮，无论在什么情况下，我从来没有见过他发脾气，就算是他在描述一件令他很生气的事情，他可以当成笑话说出来... Simiko, 星期五晚上做Econ tutorial 做到2点多然后跟我说“It is good to prioritize". 哇，很简单的一件事情，但是听了之后启发很大，是很简单的一件事情，但是我经常做得不好的事情 。而且，她是我见过的第一个睡觉比我少的女孩子了... 不简单啊。我本来以为我经常睡4、5个小时然后喝很多咖啡很了不起了。似乎对她来说是很简单的事情...  相比之下，我不能抱怨...人家层次高，我只能效仿。 每个人生来都不同，也不同的环境。相比之下才能看到自己的不足，然后去学会改变。高原说过一句话，我非常的喜欢，“改变无法接受的，接受无法改变的“，是改变先，然后再接受，而最容易也是最困难的，就是改变自己。让自己变得更有能力去改变以前无法改变的，让自己变得更有能力去适应以前无法适应的。

所以，结论是，跟《胸无大志》一样，我无非就是想表达同一个观点但是用另外的说法说出来 ，胸有大志。