Advice For Doing Better
A one liner that can do a lot.
A friend needs a new roof. I asked her how it was going because dishing out house project advice, unsolicited of course, is my second favorite topic after all topics and I make everyone tell me in great detail about what they plan on doing to their houses so that I can give them advice they didn’t ask for.
She said the roof guy was a pushy salesman. He said he could be there the next day to start (that was two weeks ago and he did in fact drop off a bunch of crap on her roof but then hasn’t been back). He wanted her to sign the contract right then and there. She knew he wanted to close the deal so she said — and now, this, I thought was brilliant — “Can you do any better?”
Wow. That is some powerful stuff. Very powerful stuff. Can you do any better? I told her that she should write a book about negotiating and she said her dad told her to always ask that when you’re making a deal. Can you do any better?
God that’s good. And so easy to remember!
It’s framed in a way that feels philosophical. It really forces introspection on the person on the other side of the question. It really fucks with the power dynamic in a very delightfully sinister way. I mean, it really makes you think.
I told her I was going to steal this (for the column but also for life). I’ve yet to put it into action yet — but oh baby, I will. And now you can do. Can you do better?