“Grrrrrr, he’s SO stubborn!”   

Have you ever had a similar thought while working through a key project with an important stakeholder who refuses to budge on her position around a critical element?   Or maybe when trying to make a household decision with your better half?

Have you ever dreaded trying to negotiate with this person?  Given up on trying to make them see reason, and just chosen good ol’ fashioned resentment instead?

I have.   There are some tough cookies out there.   I remember one client when I was still in the corporate world, and there seemed to be NO way to make him happy and get his approval without major blood, sweat and tears.  I used to DREAD dealing with him.  

Looking back, I wasted a lot of energy on this stakeholder relationship.  I got myself quite wound up in knots at times.  And the process of winning his buy-in remained difficult and loooong for quite some time.  Until I had a breakthrough...

I realized that it’s easy to tell ourselves that THEY are ju...