The Surprising Power of Ideas That Don’t Make Sense
How conventional wisdom can often not be your friend in a negotiation.
The Weekly Walkaway highlights negotiation in its ‘good’, ‘bad’ and sometimes ‘downright ugly’ forms. Issue No. 87 (20th September 2024).
Introduction
This week on The Weekly Walkaway, we’re looking at how conventional wisdom can often not be your friend in a negotiation, when some of the most powerful and creative solutions can come from embracing irrationality, creativity and psychology.
Why? Because negotiation, like life, isn’t always rational.
Rory Sutherland articulates this beautifully In his book Alchemy: The Surprising Power of Ideas That Don’t Make Sense.
“All value is perceived value...all value is subjective”
“We don’t value things; we value their meaning. What they are is determined by the laws of physics, but what they mean is determined by the laws of psychology.”
Rory Sutherland
Alchemy: The Surprising Power of Ideas That Don't Make Sense
If you don’t know the man, he is an absolute legend in the world of marketing and behavioural science, founding the practice within the giant of agency worlds, Ogilvy and is a regular speaker at TedTalks, I’ve included one of his most famous ones from 2009 below because it’s brilliant.
His work highlights a fundamental truth: all value is subjective. It’s not just about the facts; it’s about how people *feel* about the facts. His book explores several key themes:
1. The Limits of Rationality:
People don’t always make decisions based on logic. Emotions, perceptions, and biases play a huge role. Businesses often assume that rational approaches will always work, but Sutherland argues that irrational solutions can yield better results because they align more closely with human behaviour. Check out this amusing clip on TED Talks on improving the quality of experience on the Eurostar (Timecode: 1.17) - the whole video is great though:
Why should you care?
We often rely on logical data points like salary ranges, payment schedules, and so on. However, understanding that candidates and clients will also make decisions based on emotions, biases, or gut feelings can give you the edge.
By tuning into the ‘candidate’s’ or ‘clients’ personal motivations—like their career aspirations—you can offer more personalised and compelling offers.
2. The Power of Perception:
How something is framed can be more important than the actual product or service. People's perceptions, even if irrational, can make them value something differently. We discuss the concept of reframing in negotiation further here.
Give too easily and you devalue your move. Being firm is essential to ensure they value you and your moves.
People value the things that are hard to obtain…
Giles Morgan
Why should you care?
In negotiations, you can use framing to your advantage. For example, instead of presenting a salary as a fixed number, it could be framed as part of a broader compensation package that emphasises work-life balance, growth opportunities, or unique benefits.
Similarly, when you are negotiating MSP (managed service contracts), RPO (recruitment process outsourcing) or presenting Statement of Works (SOWs) clients' perceptions of your company’s brand, values, and culture can be shaped through strategic communication.
You can adjust how you present a role or company can influence how attractive it appears, even if the actual offer remains unchanged.
A great example of this is The IKEA Effect where people place higher value on things they have helped create. Sutherland talks about how involving stakeholders in a project can lead to them valuing the outcome more, even if the final product isn’t objectively superior.
By involving your stakeholders in the creation process, you increase the perceived value of your offer.
3. Non-linear Solutions:
Some of the best solutions come from non-obvious, lateral thinking. Instead of solving problems in a straightforward, linear way, sometimes doing something that seems illogical can break through barriers and create unexpected success. And this is where challenging assumptions can be so powerful when you “Embrace your inner Rebel”.
Challenging assumptions is exhilarating. It creates its own energy. Creative energy flows, disruption occurs and breakthroughs become possible.
Giles Morgan
Why should you care?
By exploring unconventional approaches or challenging long-held beliefs or assumptions you start to problem-solve during negotiations. If a candidate or a client is hesitant to agree on a deal, lateral, creative solutions—like flexible working hours, additional learning opportunities, or project autonomy—can change the dynamic and open doors where traditional tactics fail.
4. Embracing Uncertainty:
Data-driven decisions can often overlook important factors like gut instinct, creativity, and ambiguity. Sutherland advocates embracing uncertainty because it opens the door to novel, unexpected solutions.
Why should I care?
It’s easy to focus on concrete data—experience, qualifications, salary expectations—but there’s value in acknowledging the unknowns.
When negotiating, trusting instincts and allowing room for ambiguity can often lead to better results.
The Bottom Line
In essence, *Alchemy* reminds us that sometimes the best path to success lies in ideas that don’t make sense—until they do. As in many areas of life and business, following purely logical, data-driven approaches can lead to missed opportunities.
The irrational human condition often plays a more significant role than cold, hard data.
By tapping into this, you can achieve more favourable deals, build stronger relationships, and unlock solutions that traditional approaches may overlook.
Remember: Negotiation is an emotional dance, not a logic puzzle.
Negotiations are not a linear process. They are, at times, illogical and irrational. There is no place for logic or rational thinking in negotiation. It’s just not in their interest to agree with your logic or rational ideas.
Giles Morgan
Good luck out there!
Over n Out
