can be meaningless. They may mean a pint down the pub, but the problem with this is that your time is worth more than a pint.
Always get clarity from the outset so that there are no misunderstandings, no feeling that you are being taken for granted. If they don’t want to ‘deal’ with you then they will have to find someone else who is a ‘soft touch’ to exploit.
Frank’s Third Law of Negotiation: ‘Always write it up’
If you can’t immediately think of a return favour that they can perform, then tell them you have ‘something on at the moment’ and ask them to come back and see you later. If they ask ‘When?’ then you might try giving the person a time that is 10 minutes before they usually finish work. Chances are they will look elsewhere.
Of course, if you know you want something from them, then make a deal immediately. Whether you make the deal straight away or later on, always follow-up with an e- mail or a brief note that indicates clearly what the deal is from your point of view. People can so easily forget things, especially their side of the bargain!
In the next edition there will be some more ‘laws of negotiating’ for you to ponder, amongst them tips for ‘Negotiating with Suppliers’. Until then, remember your worth, make a deal only when you want to and ‘write it up’ for you own protection.
You can catch Frank at BIGGA’s Harrogate Week. He is filling the keynote speaker slot at 11am on Tuesday 23 January 2007 and, for those
groundsmen and greenkeepers who have not yet had any supervisory or management training, or who think it’s time for a refresher, Frank will be running a ‘Moving into Management’ Workshop at Harrogate Week on 21 - 22 January 2007. If you would like to attend the workshop contact Sami Collins at BIGGA HQ on 01347 833 800 or via their website:
www.bigga.co.uk. If you have an urgent question about negotiating you can contact Frank at
Pitchcare.com or via his personal website
www.franknewberry.com
PARK LIFE ...
Mark Dempsey, Parks and Street Scene Support Services Manager at Brighouse Council in Yorkshire, reports how a Wildflower Planting Day At Wellholme Park has captured the imagination of local residents and businesses
In late September Friends of Wellholme Park, Brighouse in Yorkshire held a wildflower planting event with around thirty people turning up on the day. These were mainly young families wanting to improve the park and get involved with its flora and fauna.
The planting day resulted from the success of Wellholme Week, where seventy five new friends
signed up to help out in the park, the Council wanted to keep the momentum going.
The plants used included Ox Eye Daisies, Verbascums, Purple Clover, Pyrethrum, Yellow Rattle, Buttercups, Poppies and Teasels. These were planted into beds created using recycled compost collected from the surrounding areas of Brighouse by the street cleaning section of the council. The new beds should provide a blast of colour next summer and improve the diversity of plants within the park. They will also provide a valuable food source for insects, butterflies and birds within an urban park setting.
We see this as a good opportunity for the community surrounding the park to contribute towards improving their environment whilst, at
the same time, learning about nature. Using wildflower planting events has worked well for us at various levels ranging from pre-school nurseries through to teenage school children. The idea has also attracted corporate groups,
including The Halifax Building Society, Royal Sun Alliance and The Royal Bank of Scotland, who have used wildflower planting as part of their team building days.
It is planned to extend the wildflower areas next year, again working with the existing Wellholme Friends Group and our Corporate partners.
This scheme has really caught the imagination of all users at Wellholme. It has given them a chance to become involved with the park and also contribute towards improving an area within their community.
It is vital for Parks Managers to embrace and encourage these events, as I believe they are the key to getting people back into public parks.
Days OFF!
... or what Pitchcare readers get up to out of office hours
LIZ O’CONNOR, Owner of Greenscapes Landscapes, Lawn Maintenance Specialists: For me, life is a juggling act that leaves me with very little spare time. My main day off from paid work is a Thursday, which is filled with lectures, as I am studying for a degree in Theology at Chichester University. The rest of my time is spent with my four year old son, Liam. Together, at weekends, we like to roam the woods around Goodwood, exploring, climbing trees and taking over base camps. When we’re not climbing trees, we’re playing football and he’s also learning all about grass. I want my son to
approach, the getting out there and experiencing it, that inspired me to want to learn more and to pursue a career in the outdoors. I truly believe that our children are the future and that we need to inspire them to come into this industry, whether it be as a greenkeeper, technician or landscaper and I want to pass this on to my son. For most kids their first experience of growing something is when they grow cress at school, but Liam has already got a whole tray of snapdragons on our kitchen window sill!
grow up with the same appreciation for the outdoors that I did, and have adopted the same ethos that my parents did, when it comes to teaching him about ecology and the environment. It is this hands on
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