WHAT I DO: At TNC Italia we practice negotiation on line, with the help of Phil Brown's Negotiation Cards. Practicing negotiation we aim to lead freelances and small businesses from a state of Unconscious Incompetence to a state of Unconscious Competence through intermediary steps of Unconscious Competence and Conscious Competence... Oh dear, how complicated! We just want you to move from negotiating because "that's how I've always done it" to knowing exactly why you say and do what you're saying and doing.HOW I DO IT: Is it easy? Maybe it looks weird the very first time. Funny? Absolutely. Role playing helps practice negotiation; cards force you to build a scenario in which to apply behaviors; meeting unknown people helps overcome the "fear" of challenging others; time limits help you develop an attitude to think and react quickly.WHY IT WORKS: At the end of the first session, those who attend show more awareness about some aspects of negotiation and are eager to begin next session. Are they experts at the end of the 4 introductory sessions? Obviously not. Expertise requires time; that's why we are a club, where to regularly practice and discuss negotiation. Do you know the story of the 2 men facing a lion? "Got a plan?" asks one. "Yep: run faster than you"Being aware of negotiation dynamics and tactics you'll run faster than your competitors. As a side effect, negotiation knowledge will show effects not only on business but also on your personal life, as we constantly negotiate with spouse, kids, friends and whoever crosses our path.Whoever speaks Italian is welcome to TNC Italy 1.

WHAT I DO: I support Italian accountants (CPAs) and small/medium companies who use specific software, initially made by Gemma srl, later acquired by Sistemi SpA in september 1992. HOW I DO IT: using the state-of-the-art software and communication tecniques to answer questions and solve problems in the least time possibleWHY IT WORKS: I have a direct relationship with my clients. All of them have access to my personal phone number and can use it whenever they need. This freedom leads them to feel more safe and has reduced the overall call rate so that, in the end, now I have more time for each of them.

WHAT I DID: If you're a freelance or a small business and feel in trouble interacting with clients, suppliers, collaborators, employees, ... (fill in the blank), then I'm your man! I can give you the tools and the skills to get more money, live with less stress and enhance your relationships.HOW I DID IT: I have no pre-packaged solution: I ask and listen, we collect the information and plan strategy and tactics; I'll explain why you're going to say what, when, whom, even if you're just writing an email.WHY IT WORKED: you'll learn a method. With a method, it will always be crystal clear what you want and what will happen next, that are the guiding principles driving your decision making process.

WHAT I DID: I help to solve the organization issues we all face at work, possibly using free resources available on the Internet. As long as life in the office is also human contact, I also coach how to negotiate with clients, suppliers, colleagues, employers and employees so that the working environment becomes a place where to happily get things done instead of a battle field.HOW I DID IT: In the course of my career I developped a method, that's easily applicable and simple to understand. I also prefer to work on a 1-on-1 coaching basis, meaning I haven't preconfigured recipes but I always analyze your problem and find the most appropriate solutions.WHY IT WORKED: I focus on you and your problems, not on products and services. I don't sell products and services in a "one-solution-fits-all" way and this gives you the certainty you'll get the opportunity to make the decision that best solves your issue.

WHAT WE DID: Combining emerging communication technology and traditional software development we allowed our clients to enhance productivity and reduce costs substantially.HOW WE DID IT: We carefully chose our providers (Mediatrix, Grandstream, Siemens for VOIP, Sybase and Microsoft for database and software development) to give our client a long term certainty of the project life.WHY IT WORKED: We proposed solutions only after having tested them in-house. Our clients knew they would have never been our "guinea pigs".

WHAT I DID: I developed general software for small companies and specific management software for big chain retail stores.HOW I DID IT: using easy to use develoment languages (Clipper v. 5) in DOS environment and moving to fast prototyping software (Sybase Powerbuilder) when the Microsoft Windows O.S. began to gain a foothold.WHY IT WORKED: the decision to use Clipper and its own data management system was clearly a win because of the simplicity of use and maintenance. The choice of Powerbuilder (an unknown development system at the time) and its database (Sybase SQL Anywhere) instead of Microsoft's suites has been another win because it allowed me to create and translate software rapidly. Add to this a deep personalization we applied to our software.

WHAT I DID: I was in charge of bookkeeping, budget forecasts and cash flow analysis.HOW I DID IT: having foundation of technology but not of accounting, my employer decided I had to attend a course at Università Bocconi in Milan. I really enjoyed it and learnt so well that accounting became integral part of my subsequent work experience. I also introduced Lotus 123 as a main tool to process production statistics and selling analysis.WHY IT WORKED: although I've never considered accounting as an attractive activity, my liking of numbers and calculations helped a lot in the learning process. The happy environment surrounding me gave me the motivation to learn all those "strange concepts".

WHAT I DID: This is my first and only job as employee. Small company strongly focused toward the future, thanks to its modern and advanced laboratory dedicated to carnation hybridization. I have been hired to develop software for lab management (R&D of carnation varieties): screening, genetic data and statistical calculations. Later I developed also a complete order management (from production to shipment)HOW I DID IT: initially using basic, then learning clipper/DBIII. At the time it was the state-of-the-art of software development.WHY IT WORKED: the lab was an interesting and intriguing place where to work. Nice people, all committed to the company's success. Overall the hibridization chief manager, who leaded the lab successfully for several years and guided me in the software development thanks to his deep knowledge of genetic and statistics.There I had the opportunity to understand the power of "having a method".