The-Negotiation-Society-Magazine-The-Change-Issue

A YEAR
Dealing with change is never plain sailing, but facing
it in the midst of a global pandemic presents additional
challenge and pause for reflection. We hear a personal
perspective from three professionals on an aspect of
change they have dealt with or witnessed in the last
year, and the role that negotiation has played.
OF CHANGE
by Emer Brady
Y
ou could say my big change
happened recently, but its
roots were planted two
decades ago. Fresh from university
in 1999 I joined Mars, initially
selling Mars Bars to corner shops.
While recognizing sales was not
for me long term, I gained valuable
insight into skills development, job
satisfaction, and the joy of clinching
a deal. Then the career gods smiled
upon me with a serendipitous
opportunity to work in training.
Right away it felt like coming home,
and I can honestly say I feel like I
haven’t worked a full day since.
I enjoyed wonderful years of
big, stretching roles and global
travel: from Australia to China,
I designed and implemented
learning and development programs,
set up sales colleges, and was
responsible for training thousands
of people. I felt privileged to also
experience tremendous personal
learning; operating at the heart of a
multinational business afforded me
deep understanding of developed
and developing markets and how
digital was playing out from the
L&D coalface.
I then moved to Barcelona and
a new world of change. From
knowing just hola and gracias, I
learned Spanish, fast, to communicate
with my partner’s family, and became
a mother to my son, Oran. Upon
returning to Mars after maternity
leave I was given another fantastic
role, in charge of digital learning
globally. But the inner voice that had
been whispering for several years
that I should start my own business
became louder and more insistent.
And so, on November 30th 2019,
20 years to the day that I started at
Mars, I left.
Change, even when opted for,
is unsettling. This was change on
steroids. It was terrifying to leave
a secure, well paid career, global
network, and the reassurance of
familiarity with people, processes
and work. But what makes change
frightening can also make it
exhilarating. I had planned for this –
wanted it, debated its pros and cons,
crafted how it would be. After a six
month “transitional” maternity cover
role that helpfully coincided with the
start of the pandemic, I hung up
my corporate boots and in October
2020 launched my own business,
Chispa Consulting.
Since then, it’s been a blast and
completely liberating. I’ve honed in
on my areas of expertise – women in
leadership, people processes, learning
design, and connecting learning
to business strategy. I now work
with mid-level companies where
these areas are of huge importance
and I can add disproportionate
value. All that I learned at Mars,
I bring to the table. I’m so excited
about the possibilities and see huge
opportunity to positively impact
swathes of employees who could
benefit from having better managers,
the opportunity to learn and grow,
and access to learning that’s inspiring,
sticky and engaging.
Knowing how to negotiate has
served me well. One example is
pricing. I overrode the instinct to
start low, and instead used classic
negotiation principles of getting your
price on the table first and managing
discomfort. This allowed me to set
my price, objectively, to represent the
value I offer. Of course I have a huge
amount more to learn, which
is joyous. Right now I’m learning
from other entrepreneurs how to
build a sustainable business, figuring
out the clients I want to work with,
and equally importantly, those I don’t.
For me, change is about embracing
challenge, discomfort and ambiguity,
but most of all, opportunities to learn.
It’s a truism for a reason that without
change, no progress can be made,
and I am on a mission to support
others to change, learn, and progress
for the better.
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