This week, we talk about a type of negotiation most people deal with far more often than job offers: negotiating with hotels, airlines, and everyday services. The conversation was sparked by a real hotel booking situation that arose from Gerta’s upcoming MIT masterclass.
Our conversation covers:
This week’s conversation reminds us that clarity, kindness, and genuine engagement often outperform clever tactics in every situation, not just high-stakes conversations.
For more:
Book free consultation call with Alex: Calendly
Get our free negotiation worksheet: YourNegotiations.com
Read our weekly newsletter: Newsletter
Instagram: @yournegotiations
This week, we’re sharing Gerta’s interview with Meredith Baker of the Powerful Stuff Podcast, a podcast for cheeky self-development. Their conversation is a refreshing reminder that negotiation doesn’t have to feel like a cage match. Gerta breaks down the mindset that makes negotiation work better (collaboration, goodwill, and even playfulness), plus a handful of tactics you can use immediately, whether you’re navigating comp, co-founder equity, rent, or just everyday life.
Our conversation covers:
What can negotiators learn from decision science and poker?
How to decide whether to negotiate? Expected value and resulting.
Why negotiation works best when it’s collaborative, not when you play “hard to get”
The first step most people skip: clarifying priorities and non-negotiables
Why you shouldn’t give the first number in job offer conversations
The power of silence, time, and not pushing for answers on the spot
Everyday negotiations you’re need to try: rent, flights, seats, even concert tickets
For more:
Book free consultation call with Alex: Calendly
Get our free negotiation worksheet: YourNegotiations.com
Read our weekly newsletter: Newsletter
Instagram: @yournegotiations
Most weeks on Gentle Power, we talk about power dynamics in professional settings like job offers and negotiations. In this episode, we focus on negotiations in none other than… love and dating! We explore how vulnerability, power dynamics, and behavioral psychology shape connection and influence, often in ways people misunderstand.
Our conversation covers:
Vulnerability feels like weakness but it’s actually a strong marker of power
People will like you more if you ask them for a favor - the Ben Franklin effect
How to tell if someone likes you by looking at their body language
How to regain power when the other party is being aggressive
For more:
Book free consultation call with Alex: Calendly
Get our free negotiation worksheet: YourNegotiations.com
Read our weekly newsletter: Newsletter
Instagram: @yournegotiations
This week we sat down with our friend Victor Hsu, a New York - based real estate broker who works with global families, primarily Chinese, navigating the U.S. housing market. Victor’s perspective blends cultural nuance, decades of on-the-ground experience, and a front-row view into how real people behave when the stakes feel high. The overlap between real estate and hiring negotiations turned out to be even greater than we expected.
Our conversation covers:
How Victor’s client negotiated over $3M off the asking price of a Manhattan townhouse
Why showing enthusiasm from Day 1 can make sellers more flexible, not less
What great real estate agents actually do behind the scenes
Practical tips for buyers in today’s market and renters in competitive cities
Find out what he meant by ““Making offers is how you get intel”.
For more:
Book free consultation call with Alex: Calendly
Get our free negotiation worksheet: YourNegotiations.com
Read our weekly newsletter: Newsletter
Instagram: @yournegotiations
There’s one insight in our client work that many people would find surprising: mid-career professionals often land stronger increases, both in percentage terms and in absolute dollars, than do senior executives.
At first glance, it feels counterintuitive. Senior leaders negotiate business deals, oversee large teams and budgets, and carry higher titles that signal experience and competence. But job offer negotiations draw on a different set of muscles, and the instincts that help people succeed at the executive level don’t always translate cleanly.
Our conversation covers:
How common executive instincts like decisiveness and transparency can cause leaders to move too fast and lose early leverage
Why “executive presence” can backfire
Why role scarcity raises the stakes for senior candidates, and how the pressure to land a rare role can push executives to accept terms prematurely
If you’re a senior leader, mid-career professional, or simply someone who wants to negotiate with more steadiness and clarity, you’ll find a ton of insight in this episode about how to stay grounded and ask for what you actually need.
For more:
Book free consultation call with Alex: Calendly
Get our free negotiation worksheet: YourNegotiations.com
Read our weekly newsletter: Newsletter
Instagram: @yournegotiations
This week we spoke with our friend Matt LeBaron, cofounder and CEO of Pocketbook. Matt helps large companies evaluate their software vendors, renegotiate contracts, and make smarter decisions about their tech stack. He also works as a part-time consultant with Adobe’s software procurement team.
Our conversation covers:
How Matt creatively turned a full-time job posting from Adobe into part-time client work for his business
Why negotiations are more flexible than they appear, and how stated policies or pricing often function more as starting points than strict rules
How timing, context, and business needs contribute to negotiation leverage
Why relationships matter more than negotiations tactics taught in the classroom or in books
Whether you’re a freelancer, you have your own business, or are a job seeker who’s having trouble finding that perfect role to apply to, you’ll find a ton of gold in this conversation with Matt.
Learn more about Matt and Pocketbook here: Website | Matt’s LinkedIn | email: matt@pocketbk.com
For more:
Book free consultation call with Alex: Calendly
Get our free negotiation worksheet: YourNegotiations.com
Read our weekly newsletter: Newsletter
Instagram: @yournegotiations
This week on Gentle Power, we’re joined by Shawna Samuel, an executive consultant who focuses on supporting executive-working mothers in demanding roles.
Shawna began her career in global finance, where she spent two decades shaping partnerships across the US and Europe. When she became a mother, the structure that had supported her career started to feel less stable. Her responsibilities grew while the available support didn’t grow with them, and she began questioning the default assumption that people should simply adapt without help. That turning point led Shawna to create The Mental Offload, where she helps clients reclaim time, influence, and steadiness in both their professional and personal lives without sacrificing career trajectory.
This conversation will be valuable to anyone who is career-focused but also has big responsibilities outside of the office.
Our conversation covers:
How to frame your asks around the business value you create rather than treating adjustments as favors
Why silence can be a powerful tool and how to use it to guide a negotiation
Practicing saying no in small, everyday ways so that boundaries shift from feeling uncomfortable to normal
Why people do better work when the responsibilities they carry outside of the office are acknowledged and supported
Learn more about Shawna and The Mental Offload here: Website | Spotify | Apple | LinkedIn
For more:
Book free consultation call with Alex: Calendly
Get our free negotiation worksheet: YourNegotiations.com
Read our weekly newsletter: Newsletter
Instagram: @yournegotiations
This week on Gentle Power, we explore how Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy has changed the way we think about negotiations. The IFS school of thought is based on the idea that we all have different “parts” within us that try to protect us in different ways, and this framework offers surprising lessons for how we show up in high-stakes conversations.
Our conversation covers:
Negotiating from this mindset will feel less like a flight and more like a creative dialogue. When we understand our own reactions and stay curious about what’s happening on the other side, even tough moments can turn into opportunities for connection and confidence, and of course, better outcomes.
For more:
Book free consultation call with Alex: Calendly
Get our free negotiation worksheet: YourNegotiations.com
Read our weekly newsletter: Newsletter
Instagram: @yournegotiations
In this episode, we break down one of the most overlooked negotiation traps: how people give away their leverage when they think they’re actually helping their case. From revealing salary history to competing offers to personal disclosures, even senior leaders can unintentionally anchor themselves low and limit their earning power.
Our conversation covers:
How one of our high performing, executive clients made a fatal mistake in their negotiations thinking they were actually helping their case
Why sharing salary history instantly anchors the negotiation and erases options you didn’t know you had
How companies subtly steer candidates into revealing information they’re legally protected from sharing
Why “market data” is far less reliable than people think. The real number that matters is the top of their budget - we can never know that number but here’s what to do about it.
The compounding cost of leaving even a small amount of salary on the table and how it shapes every raise, promotion, and future offer
How disclosing pregnancies, relocations, side projects, or “I’m not talking to anyone else” can shift power
Why naming competing companies or industries collapses your leverage, and how to keep optionality without lying
Most leverage is lost in moments that feel harmless. The more intentional you are with what you share, the more confidently you can negotiate for the future you want.
For more:
Book free consultation call with Alex: Calendly
Get our free negotiation worksheet: YourNegotiations.com
Read our weekly newsletter: Newsletter
Instagram: @yournegotiations
In this episode, we discuss a common dilemma: how to negotiate when the job opportunity came through a referral. Many people hesitate to negotiate in these situations out of fear of seeming ungrateful or straining the relationship that helped them get in the door. We share how to approach these conversations without creating awkwardness or risking the relationship.
Our conversation covers:
We also share:
For more:
Book free consultation call with Alex: Calendly
Get our free negotiation worksheet: YourNegotiations.com
Read our weekly newsletter: Newsletter
Instagram: @yournegotiations
This week we’re joined by Alex Daniels, founder of Decrypted Law and a JD-MBA who is ex-Google, has advised startups and investors during his time at Cooley, and now through his own practice. Alex helps founders and employees navigate legal complexity and drive equitable outcomes through intentional legal design. We explore the structures that keep negotiations ethical, equitable, and grounded in real leverage.
Our conversation covers:
What founders and employees should know about clawback clauses, non-competes, non-solicits, and NDAs, and why the language matters more than the label
How to approach severance negotiations, what “reasonable” looks like, and when to consider outside counsel
How personal disclosures can shift power in negotiations, and why the wrong timing or location-based pay changes can expose companies to discrimination claims
The difference between RSAs, RSUs, and ISOs, and how early exercise or cash compensation can preserve real value over time
We also share:
Alex’s journey from Google to Cooley to building his own flat-fee law firm for startups
A true case of a relocation gone wrong and what founders can learn about jurisdiction and fairness
Why reading and understanding every clause in your offer or CIIAA is the strongest move you can make
The more awareness you bring to the table, the better equipped you are to ensure your best outcome, and our conversation with Alex provides the tools to navigate your next contract confidently.
For more:
Book free consultation call with Alex: Calendly
Get our free negotiation worksheet: YourNegotiations.com
Read our weekly newsletter: Newsletter
Instagram: @yournegotiations
In this episode, we’re joined by corporate attorney and SaaS dealmaker, Omeed Tabiei, whose career spans Hyperloop’s moonshot years, two startups of his own, and now a boutique legal firm that helps software founders from incorporation to exit. We dig into how negotiation really works across the startup lifecycle: pricing your services, converting cold outreach into warm relationships, and protecting leverage when buyers come knocking.
We cover:
Why everything is a negotiation, from scoping legal work to structuring M&As
How Omeed turns cold leads warm: identify motivations, give value up front, and keep a seat at the table
How founders lose leverage in exits and how to run a competitive process
Decoding offers beyond the headline price: stock, holdbacks, working-capital adjustments, taxes
Guardrails for buyer diligence: phased NDAs, term sheets first, and when to use breakup fees
We also share:
Bazaar-born instincts: a dad who made every purchase a negotiation (and how that translates stateside)
The inside story of Hyperloop’s rise and lessons from raising nine-figure capital on a moonshot
Omeed's journey: starting two companies, navigating a co-founder dispute, and returning to law to help founders succeed
“Gentle power” here means pairing clear asks with real empathy: protect your leverage, lead with value, and move every conversation toward fair, durable agreements, for both sides.
For more:
Book free consultation call with Alex: Calendly
Get our free negotiation worksheet: YourNegotiations.com
Read our weekly newsletter: Newsletter
Instagram: @yournegotiations
In this episode, we’re joined by Mariane Bekker: engineering leader through six exits, former Director of Engineering at Mindbody, and founder of the 80k-member tech community, Founders Bay. Our conversation explores pay and negotiations from the hiring side, how bias actually shows up in offers, and how women (and allies) can ensure fair offers from both sides of the table.
We cover:
How to avoid anchoring traps that disadvantage women in offers
Why motivation and scope often matter more than “market data”
Practical phrases that reframe the conversation without giving up leverage
We also share:
Mariane’s path from cold-calling offices with 50 resumes to building a 55% women engineering org
How asking for a higher title early shaped every step of her career
Real tactics she used as Head of Engineering to redesign hiring systems
The personal grit behind her negotiation style, from war-torn Lebanon to Silicon Valley
If you hire, lead, or negotiate in tech, this one’s a masterclass on advocating for yourself and others without leaving value on the table.
For more:
Book free consultation call with Alex: Calendly
Get our free negotiation worksheet: YourNegotiations.com
Read our weekly newsletter: Newsletter
Instagram: @yournegotiations
This week we’re sharing a live workshop we hosted with Marianne Bekker (Managing Partner, Founders Bay) on how founders can negotiate across every phase of the startup journey, from co-founder splits to investor terms, design partners, vendors, and early hires. Gerta walks through a practical framework for keeping leverage, avoiding common traps (like giving numbers/ranges), and aligning deals to the right priorities rather than the loudest ones.
Our presentation covers:
A founder’s job is nonstop negotiation, and this workshop gives you the scripts, structure, and judgment to secure better terms without burning bridges.
For more:
Book free consultation call with Alex: Calendly
Get our free negotiation worksheet: YourNegotiations.com
Read our weekly newsletter: Newsletter
Instagram: @yournegotiations
In our first in-person interview, we sat down with David Carvalho: entrepreneur, veteran DJ, and the man behind some of San Francisco’s most iconic tech and music events. For more than two decades, David has booked talent for Dreamforce, the Super Bowl, and private gatherings for Silicon Valley’s most influential leaders, while also performing at Coachella, Ultra, Outside Lands, Giants, Warriors, and Raiders games, Google and Facebook’s IPO parties, and even Christina Aguilera’s wedding.
In our conversation, David shares how he has built long-lasting partnerships and a storied career by balancing integrity, creativity, and negotiation savvy.
We cover:
We also share:
Whether you’re a job seeker, founder, or just navigating big decisions, this episode is a masterclass in applying real-world negotiation lessons to your own career and life.
For more:
Book free consultation call with Alex: Calendly
Get our free negotiation worksheet: YourNegotiations.com
Read our weekly newsletter: Newsletter
Instagram: @yournegotiations
We often get asked, "What does a negotiation service look like?" In this video, we go into detail on exactly what our clients experience when they work with us to negotiate their compensation.If you're in the job search or expecting upcoming negotiations, book a free call with us to get free negotiation tips for your situation and to explore if we're a good fit to work together! Find a time here: https://calendly.com/alexhapki/call
In this episode, we unpack the exact words and phrases that quietly tank negotiations, and what to say instead. A recent study conducted by Neil Rackham shows skilled negotiators use far fewer “irritator words” like “fair,” “reasonable,” and “generous,” because those labels backfire.
We cover:
The “irritator words” to avoid based on the study (“fair offer,” “reasonable,” “generous”) and simple, better substitutes
Irritator words that we have observed from our experience and what to say instead
A kinder, stronger deflection than “I’m not comfortable sharing that” (for salary questions, competing offers, etc.)
How to ask for details or a written summary without sounding distrustful (skip “can you put that in writing?”)
When to hold your line without giving numbers or ranges, and still preserve rapport
A quick behavioral nudge you can use (the “because” effect) without being manipulative
We also share:
Gerta’s negotiation training roots (MIT/Harvard) and why behavioral science runs our playbook
The odd “eyes on the coffee jar” study and what it teaches about human behavior
Tune in to learn the subtle wording tweaks that protect your leverage, keep rapport intact, and help you land better outcomes without sounding adversarial.
For more:
Book free consultation call with Alex: Calendly
Get our free negotiation worksheet: YourNegotiations.com
Read our weekly newsletter: Newsletter
Instagram: @yournegotiations
In this episode, we tested AI against some of our most common negotiation questions to find out where it helps, and where it confidently steers you wrong. On paper it looked helpful, but the devil was in the details; the results were a mix of good reminders and dangerously misleading shortcuts. We covered topics like:
Why “market data” (Glassdoor, Levels, Blind) rarely moves real offers, and what to use instead
How to ask for a written offer the right way (and why a signable letter beats a summary email)
Better scripts than “Is this negotiable?” (and why you shouldn’t give numbers or ranges)
Reading “best and final,” when to keep pushing, and when to stop without burning bridges
We also share stories including:
A world-class MBA who nearly blew an offer while being enrolled in a negotiations course
The exec candidate who cited market data and was told, “Even our C-suite doesn’t make that”
How big companies quietly changed their offer tactics and how we adapted
A quirky-but-real priority a client negotiated (and why we re-ordered her asks)
Tune in to see us run a live test on an AI model’s negotiation advice, what it gets right, what it misses, and how to protect your offer when the stakes are high.
For more:
Book free consultation call with Alex: Calendly
Get our free negotiation worksheet: YourNegotiations.com
Read our weekly newsletter: Newsletter
Instagram: @yournegotiations
In this episode, we cover:
We also share:
Tune in for practical strategies to catch misleading phrasing and protect your compensation.
For more:
Book free consultation call with Alex: Calendly
Get our free negotiation worksheet: YourNegotiations.com
Read our weekly newsletter: Newsletter
Instagram: @yournegotiations
In this episode, we cover:
Why even world-class professionals with top MBAs and deal-making experience can still mishandle their own salary negotiations
The stigma around hiring a coach, and how it’s no different from hiring a trainer, therapist, or MBA consultant to help you level up
The gap between knowing good advice and executing it well when the stakes feel high and context matters
Why AI is unable to replace a negotiations consultant
We also share:
A candid story from a friend who was literally taking a negotiations class while fumbling her own offer
How we tweak strategies to fit the specific recruiter, timing, and leverage in each client’s situation, and why what the other side says often doesn’t mean what you think it does
Tune in for a mix of real-world case study and practical insights, so you can see why even seasoned pros benefit from expert support, and avoid leaving money on the table.
For more:
Book free consultation call with Alex: Calendly
Get our free negotiation worksheet: YourNegotiations.com
Read our weekly newsletter: Newsletter
Instagram: @yournegotiations