Man Up

I recently hatched this rather elegant idea for a development at Evins Mill, which is a peripheral yet necessary predicate to the subject at hand. To the east of our last guest house on the other side of a wide ravine is a thickly forested ridge top overlooking a deep gorge, Fall Creek and the precipice of Carmack Falls itself. The idea may be as brilliant as the land is beautiful.

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As economic conditions improve, we develop this woodland into lots for the construction and sale of vacation rental homes. Variations of the concept are manifold, but in any scenario owners could partake of all the resort's amenities, as well as the services of its maintenance, grounds and housekeeping staff. Equally compelling, our sales office could effectively rent their homes either in tandem with or independent of its own operations.
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And the Inn - without assuming the unsavory risks of owning the homes - could double its overnight capacity, allowing it to host larger corporate events which it now must routinely decline. In addition to amplifying the Inn's share of the corporate market, the expanded capacity would also augment its food & beverage sales and generate a respectable revenue stream via rental and maintenance agreements.
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Brilliant is too strong a word, for it implies originality - and there's nothing faintly unique about the proposal. Unique or not, the more circumspect might divine boondoggle rather than bonanza - and they would have a compelling case too. The land would be costly to develop and sire only a handful of lots. The added capacity could potentially transform the essence of our business - and alienate a loyal clientele in the process. Oh, and did I mention - I have no idea how to pull any of this off?
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And there's another pesky fly in the ointment - we don't own much of the required acreage - an adjacent farmer does. And a farmer, whose family may have owned the land for generations, can have an ancestral attachment to his soil, refusing to part with a family jewel for any price. Fortuitously, this farmer is willing to sell, and more than that, suggested I acquire more soil than needed - beautiful acreage that would serve as a buffer between his farmland and our development. What a break.

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Not so fast, for most anyone will sell you most anything for a price - and his is a deal-killer. The opening salvo of our negotiations came unexpectedly - kind of like an ambush is unexpected. Standing under a tree in the pouring rain on the land in question - city boy in crisp button down and old timer in crinkled overalls - he asked me my price. To my low-ball offer he gruffly grunted "Oh, no, no, no - we can't talk like that. No sir, can't talk like that."
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His stance is not problematic in and of itself and is a routine feature of this particular dance. The dilemma is my capacity for negotiation, which is negligible at best. I'm analytical rather than aggressive, and given to cooperation rather than cajoling. At peace with my strengths and weaknesses, I do in these "to be or not to be" moments envy those who can bluff and bully - that is to say, mislead and overpower to further their interests.

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And something tells me that little I learned in business school will help me as I haggle with this plainspoken and weather worn farmer. If in a few years you start receiving solicitations regarding "Ridge Top Estates" or "Chalets at Evins Mill," you'll know I manned up and negotiated with nerve and cunning. Silence will likely mean failure - and on a very personal level. So wish me luck or give me counsel, for after all, I need some land I'd like to sell you.