Girls in Tech’s Negotiations Workshop

by julieblaustein on February 10, 2008

by Julie Blaustein

Elizabeth Lefever of Orrick, Katherine Barr of MDV and Jeannie Shin of Orrick

It’s Girls in Tech’s one year anniversary and they are still going strong. The brain child of Adriana Gascoigne; created to provide resources, relationships and support amongst woman in this mostly male dominated field of high tech. The event provided by them about negotiations was well attended, informative and quite a lot of fun.

Katherine Barr, who held the workshop, is a Partner at Mohr Davidow Ventures (MDV) is a member of their investment team. She also holds a Professional Education Negotiation program for the School of Engineering at Stanford. Sporting the most engaging smile I have ever come across, she immediately relaxed the eager audience of about 30 with her amusing remarks.

The smart and hot looking crowd of Girls in Tech

So what is the big difference between men and women when negotiating? It comes down to that fact that women are too concerned about the outcomes of ones relationship with the other party. At the end of the day, the negotiations have nothing to do with your relationship but about walking away with alternatives and coming to an agreement where both parties are satisfied with the outcomes.

It was an interactive evening too. Starting with the arm wrestling between seat mates to show that even in that activity one is negotiating the outcome through eye contact, attitude, aggressiveness and other physical attributes. A case study and a “Vantage Seven-Element Preparation Tool” sheet set the negotiation concepts into play as a team of two were paired up and negotiated the contract of a has-been reality star at a new agency. The end of the evening the group was treated not only to a note pad worth of incredibly handy sheets that truly set the stage for a negotiation session but also to a laminated card to have handy for reference in stressful situations.

Some great books that were highly suggested included Getting to YES: Negotiation Agreement without Giving In and Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most.

Orrick sponsored the event and provided a scrumptious feast after the hard work the guys and gals completed during the evening of negotiations.