Scott was in a quandary. His
candidate wanted the job, and the company wanted to make the
hire. But they just couldn’t agree on terms.
Scott tried several times to reach a
compromise, but neither side would budge. The main issue was
the compensation package, which had morphed into a mish-mash
of sticking points.
For example, when the salary went up, the
revenue sharing went down. The more generous the perks, the
more stringent the performance goals became. And when the
signing bonus ballooned, the severance package deflated. And
so it went.
To make matters worse, Scott was beginning to
take heat from both sides. The harder he tried to put the deal
together, the more each side accused him of playing favorites.
From a dealmaker’s perspective, it was a total nightmare.
Bad Blood and Gridlock
Frustrated, Scott pondered the
situation. It seemed that both sides sincerely wanted to work
together, but their pride kept them apart. Ironically, the
only common ground was their growing distrust of
him.
So Scott took an unusual step. Borrowing from
the script of a typical TV police drama, Scott played “good
cop/bad cop.” Only Scott cast himself as the bad cop.
Admitting his failure to find a solution,
Scott persuaded the candidate and the company to let a neutral
third party act as an arbitrator. Then Scott stepped back
graciously and let the good cop -- a well-known and highly
respected business leader -- find a way for everyone to settle
their differences.
Scott felt he had nothing to lose and
everything to gain. He didn’t care who got the credit, as long
as both sides walked away with a smile.
Scott's Big
Gamble
And that’s exactly what
happened. A few hours after meeting, the candidate and the
company came to terms. The candidate got the job he wanted,
the company got a superstar for their team, and neither
Scott’s reputation -- nor his fee -- was diminished.
Were it not for Scott’s creativity -- and his
willingness to put aside his ego -- the deal might have never
taken shape.
"Bad Cop" in the News
The technique I just described
has not only worked for me in certain situations, it recently
served as the centerpiece of an historic sports
negotiation.
When longtime agent Scott Boras reached an
impasse in the contract negotiation between his client,
baseball superstar Alex Rodriguez and the New York Yankees, a
neutral third-party, billionaire Warren Buffett, was asked to
arbitrate.
Soon after, the Yankees announced that a
10-year, $275 million agreement had been reached. Although
Scott Boras had bowed out of the direct negotiations, he
played a significant supporting role in crafting the language
of the contract.
Scott's deal represents the richest contract
in major league baseball history, and consists of a complex
series of bonuses and incentives tied to several different
performance goals.
As far as I know,
neither Scott Boras' reputation -- nor his fee -- was
diminished.
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