Lessons in Negotiation and Boldness from My Father’s Garage Sale Tale

A note to young leaders. Lessons from my father.
As a teenager, I occasionally joined my dad on his weekly trips from Sydney to Canberra – to visit his various residential development sites.

On one such trip, we stopped off at a small town called Marulan for a toilet break. Along the way, dad noticed a garage sale and decided to take a look.
He paused to examine a vintage bath tub with a price tag of $15.00 and the owner asked him if he wanted to buy it. Dad smiled and said: “I don’t really have a use for it but I’ll buy it for $5.00.”

When the offer was politely declined and we walked away, I was bemused and asked: “Dad, why did you bid on a bathtub we had absolutely no need for?”
Dad replied: “Because it’s fun to negotiate and if he said yes, we would have donated it to the Salvos.”

Dad was teaching me three things: (1) negotiation is a game, have fun;
(2) being bold is a muscle, practise on the small so you’re ready for the large; and (3) be charming and smile even when bold, you’re more likely to do a deal.

Here’s hoping you find your bargain bathtub at a garage sale in 2023! 😊