Took my daughter to Krakow, got back yesterday. Solo. Daddy-daughter trip. Trains, dragons, horse carriages, the whole deal.
Before we left, I promised her two things:
A dragon toy and a horse toy.
Krakow is famous for a humongous, 12 foot dragon, and for horse carriages in the main market square.
Day one — got the dragon at the Wawel Castle gift shop. Easy. Only set me back $12, I was ready to pay $50.
Day two — no horse.
Looked everywhere.
Every tourist shop.
Every stall.
Krakow apparently sells 10,000 dragons and millions of stuffed pigeons, but zero horses.
So Little Miss Mau, being 3, assessed the situation.
She didn't whine about the horse. She didn't ask me to keep looking. She didn't accept nothing.
She said:
"Can I have another dragon?"
And walked out with two dragons.
Actually, 3, I got roped into another, but that's another story.
She identified what was available. Pivoted. Asked for something she actually wanted. And got more than the original deal.
Here's the thing:
She just out-negotiated 99% of candidates in salary conversations.
Because most candidates do one of two things when the offer isn't what they wanted:
They accept it silently because they're afraid of losing the job.
Or they push back awkwardly, get flustered, and either cave immediately or make the whole thing confrontational.
They don't pivot. They don't redirect. They don't look at what IS on the table and find a way to walk out with more than they came for.
Little Miss Mau didn't get the horse. She got two dragons instead. And she's thrilled.
There's a single sentence in 10,000 Interviews that handles the salary conversation exactly like this. Sets the floor. Implies leverage. Leaves room to pivot. And it works whether they offer what you want or something completely different.
Chapter 8. One sentence. My 3-year-old already knows how to use it.
Price goes up at end of month, this is the launch special: