Secrets of Give and Take

Week of June 28, 2025

Imagine what your life would be like if everyone you interact with – at work and at home – would value and reward you for your talents in the way you truly deserve.

In “Secrets of Give and Take,” we will explore how to bring your gifts to the world in a way that they are embraced and rewarded. Skills for win-win outcomes that work in business can just as effectively be applied to life and home situations. If you have ever sought to buy a home, wanted your children to do their homework, experienced a conflict with a neighbor, or aimed to sell your artwork – then some of the tips we cover are bound to be helpful.

How I Learned the Hard Way (So You Don’t Have To)

Join me in hearing about the many mistakes I made over time as I tried to meet my needs in business and in life. Have a good laugh when you hear how I was negotiating against myself, mistaking my wants for needs, and letting my emotions get the better of me. And discover the four steps that build strong mutual trust over time to support successful, mutually beneficial relationships.

Mindsets for Getting What You Deserve

In this session, we will dispel some myths about what it takes to “win” in life, and what “winning” really is. We’ll address the paradoxes of mindset. Such as: how the one thing that makes you most persuasive is allowing yourself to be persuaded. How self-doubt is just another form of self-orientation, and how it can be overcome. Why objections are not rejections but requests for help. You’ll gain insight into the mindset of winners, and you’ll learn to turn your own mindset around.

Personal Brand

Today, we’ll discuss how to make your “authentic self” shine brightly, so people want to engage with you. We review another paradox: how putting the brakes on expressing certain emotions can make you more authentic, not less. We will discuss how your values can inform your message, and how you can help others around you see the benefit of what you have to offer. We also touch on the differences between how men and women often present themselves, and what they can learn from each other.

Skills for Getting What You Deserve

Let’s get very practical now and learn the simple skills that will help you offer your gifts and talents to the world and get what you deserve. Once you master asking three important questions, you’ll be on your way to a mutual, “win-win” relationship. We will also review the difference between persistence and stalking, and between promotion, exaggeration, bluff, and lies; and we’ll delve into the core skill of “treating everyone in life as if they were your customer”.

Techniques that May Be Used Against You, and How to Overcome Them

This is a dangerous session, as you will become familiar with commonly used, effective but less ethical negotiation tactics and techniques. Dangerous, because we don’t want to use these techniques to manipulate others! We want to be prepared, though, for the pressure that may be used against us, and I will provide you with techniques to turn these negative tactics around into more productive conversations.

Maggie van de Griend is a lifelong consultant and coach. Her life’s work is focused on ethical, values-based influence, helping people bring their gifts to the world and reap the just rewards. She has accelerated the careers of countless sales and business executives around the world. She has built a multimillion-dollar business of her own, called Sokrates Partners, from the ground up – teaching executives how best to collaborate for great relationship outcomes as well as great results.   Maggie has held senior leadership positions in top global consulting firms as well as in small, specialized firms. She has a master’s degree in Classical Linguistics from the University of Amsterdam (the Netherlands) and a variety of coaching and facilitation certifications.