I hope I am not the only one baffled by the recent meeting between USA President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
I am not an expert in foreign relations, but I understand sales a bit. One thing for sure is that you research your prospects before approaching them.
From what I have seen in the news, the offer on the table was to share 50% of the profits from the Mineral, and it seems pretty good, but that is for the government to decide. Here is the problem with the deal: Mr. Trump does not care about the facts. How did I conclude?
If you search for any topic prevalent during his first term as President, you will find article after article written on it.
So, how do you work with someone who follows conventional logic? Any sales conversion that ends up in an aggressive shouting match is not suitable for either side, and in this case, our president didn’t care what happened since he is already more towards Russia than Ukraine. The unfortunate reality is that Ukraine needs help from the USA, whether it’s weapons or monetary assistance
Question: What should he have done?
I don’t think I have an answer, but if we look at a few things that Mr. Trump cares about, you might get a few clues(assumptions):
- He cares about MAGA.
- He cares about his Name (Trump towers).
- He cares about looking good in front of America (he will ignore anything that doesn’t make him look good).
- What makes him look special (most outgoing people like that).
- He hates anyone who speaks against him, but if you make a U-turn and suck up to him, he is willing to change his outlook on you, for example Facebook (how Mark Z flipped after election).
Now, if I had to walk into the same office as Mr. Trump in front of cameras or even off camera and try to make a deal, I would have to run with the above assumptions and try to create magic. Here is how and quite a few have done this before, so nothing revolutionary:
- Make Trump look good, and ask an open-ended question: How would you do that? One of the best examples by a foreign Politician I have seen is when last week the British PM Starmer met the President and handed him an invitation from the UK King. I refuse to believe Ukraine couldn’t come up with something similar.
- Find a way to say you are on the same page as Mr. Trump.
Here is an idea: Maybe you should wear a Red Hat, even if it doesn’t say MAGA, though it would be better if it did.
- Make a story about how the hospitality provided by Mr. Trump’s white house is a lot better than Biden’s hospitality. He would love that.
- Make a grand gesture towards Trump. I am sure Ukraine can figure out something, but here is what China did: The Chinese government and its state-controlled entities spent over $5.5 million on properties owned by Donald Trump during his first term.
- Find a building in Ukraine and name it after Trump. It should say Trump Tower in Big, bold, golden letters. On the sign, you can even invite him to the inauguration. The name doesn’t have to be permanent; it can be used for the next four years.
Unfortunately, lawyers and economists that most governments follow would never come up with a wacky idea. You need a human behavior expert to counter randomness and post-rationalize how the USA government works.
Being random can also be an asset. The opposite of a good idea is not a wrong idea. I wish we could be more experimental and not be constrained by logic.
