Mark Raffan

Social engineering is defined as the use of centralized planning in an attempt to manage social change and regulate the future development and behaviour of a society. What if the…

Franchising is a unique business model. As the franchisor, you are relying on strangers with money to carry out your vision. As a franchisee, you are doing all of the…

We often think of marketing as advertising – picturing Don Draper in his Madison Avenue office overlooking New York City, thinking up the cleverest way to talk about cigarettes. When…

Creating a procurement process is only one part of Enterprise Resource Planning or ERP. ERP and procurement are often implemented at the same time, and corporate rules interfere with both,…

When entering a negotiation in Europe, it is important to defer to the local process. Robert Semethy, chief procurement officer at Erste Bank in Vienna, joined me on a recent episode…

When dealing with differences in culture during international negotiations, etiquette is an important strategy/tactic to consider. Etiquette coach, Bernice Lee, joined me on the podcast a few months ago to…

Emotional intelligence, or EQ, is a highly important part of negotiation and success. In procurement, professionals tend to excel at strategy and following process and downplay the magnitude of emotional…

When examined, two different careers can have similarities. Procurement, in particular, is a linear move, rather than a parallel, to careers that seem opposite at first glance. Life experience renders…

We all fear conflict, we fear rejection, we fear ridicule. In negotiation, conflict is inevitable and trying to avoid it could hinder your ability to reach your desired outcome.  In…

Everybody goes into a negotiation with emotional baggage. We can expect emotions from those being asked to make sacrifices – there usually is at least one party in a negotiation…