Bill Hibbler Interview: Negotiation Power Tool -Learn The Other Person's Story

Learn more about Getting to Yes from William Ury's official website.

Learn more about Roger Fisher and this book also from The Harvard Negotiation Project.

I recently read two excellent books on negotiation by Roger Fisher called Getting to YES: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In, and Beyond Reason: Using Emotions as You Negotiate.

The books were quite interesting, but I wanted to see how or if the concepts translated well in the "real world." The opportunity to test those concepts came in the form of an enlightening interview.

I had the pleasure to interview Bill Hibbler recently. Bill has been in the entertainment industry in a management and deal making capacity since 1975. He is currently in negotiations to manage a Grammy award-winning producer, as well as forming his own video production company. He started out as a roadie and went on to manage some of the biggest names in the rock and roll world, including Steve Marriott, Humble Pie, and Glenn Hughes. Oh the stories Bill can tell! In this enlightening interview, Bill gives real-world examples about how several of the above book concepts have and continue to play out in his career (two in particular: leverage and mutual benefit).

Bill talked about leverage as he weaved it into his real life experience. He began by reminiscing about being a tour manager of a cover band in his early days. At that point, he, his role, the band and their status had virtually no leverage when playing in clubs. They were as yet unknown. In one instance, a bartender was exceptionally condescending. There wasn't much he and the band could do, because the club had all of the power and leverage. None of them would get paid until they performed.  He remembered how it felt to be on that end of things.

Fast forward several years later, and Bill is now the manager (backed by an agency) for a band. The way the contracts were designed was almost a complete reverse, ensuring that the band gets paid half up front, and the other half before unloading even one microphone stand. In one instance in particular, another bartender tried to act in a similar fashion towards Bill and the band as from years earlier. This time, with all of the leverage, Bill's reaction was much different. The owner had to come out and settle things down, realizing that Bill and the band could pull out of there and leave if they wanted to. Now, Bill said he never would have done that, because the fans had paid and were looking forward to seeing the band play. The two experiences stuck out in his mind as he recalled how it felt to be on one side of having leverage versus having none.

It is also important to remember that circumstances can change on a dime in the entertainment world.  One day you might hold the cards, and the next day someone else does. So it is important to still maintain understanding relationships that focus on win-win, even when you seem to have all the leverage in that moment. This sentiment segues into the second part of Bill's story. 

Bill Hibbler, and the rest of his entertaining Shark's Hat Story

The second story Bill told me in our interview tied in leverage with the concept of "mutual benefit," or win-win as he likes to call it. The link below Bill's picture takes you to the entire story. In a nutshell, Bill remembered a passing comment that one of Japan's most powerful players in the music industry made at a dinner. The mogul mentioned his love for the hockey team called the San Jose Sharks. At that time, Bill was not a major part of the conversation. His role was tour manager, and did not give him much leverage.

However, a few months later, Bill had been hired to take on an active role as the manager. He now had major leverage. As luck would have it, he had intuitively purchased a Sharks baseball cap and forgotten all about it. A  year from the first meeting, Bill found himself back in Japan with this mogul in a much different capacity. He handed the startled man the Sharks cap as a gift. As it turned out, the mogul had been looking for that cap (exact color) for months, unsuccessfully! And now, Bill simply handed it to him. From then on, deals went smoothly, his act (Glenn Hughes) produced a great album, and Bill and the mogul became good friends.

This is the power of story. Get to know what the story is for the other side. You never know when something very small could turn out to change your entire life. Never forget the "human" element of any negotiation. Everyone has a story. Learn theirs, and negotiate around that for mutual benefit.