There are leaders. And wannabees.

Leadership means leadership.

I'm always amazed when I negotiate with someone, and I'm in the non-leverage position, the other side refuses to put a deal on the table first. It's a guessing game and I'm always going to be the loser.

Why play?

I was negotiating a fee recently with a CEO and they kept offering a deal, but not naming a price. This went on for weeks until finally, to move things along, I named a price. Now in that situation, I'm going to throw a bigger number out there. What choice do I have? But when I did (and do, because this happens a lot) the CEO said, 'Holy Moly!' and that was the end of the discussion.

Months wasted. Lack of leadership, for sure, and lack of seriousness too. They were messing with me and doing me a favor at the same time. Doing me a favor because you don't want to sign up with a leader like that. It ain't going anywhere anyway.

Leadership is not just some bullet points you read out of a book. It begins with a single word - respect. Respect the people you're talking to. And if you feel there's any kind of game going, or indecision, or just plain inexperience, best to find another flag to follow.