Carragee Consulting

The ‘Red Cape Syndrome’ is a behavioral pattern (self imposed trap) I’ve advised pricing clients to to avoid, and simultaneously fallen victim to as a parent.

Children often play their parents against each other to get what they want.

“Dad can I have ice cream for breakfast?”

The inconsistency in the outcome (sometimes getting what they want, sometimes not) encourages the child to continue this behavior.

“Mom can I have chocolate cookies?”

Kids learn early what the family org structure is and how best to get a favorable outcome.

This dynamic is also seen in business negotiations, particularly in pricing discussions.
Customers may negotiate with lower-level representatives who are bound by company rules.

However, when a deal becomes crucial or it’s the end of a financial period, an executive might step in.

This executive, under pressure, may compromise on terms and conditions that the frontline salesperson was adhering to.

This trains the customer to continue escalate and hold out for more favorable terms, which
– lengthens your negotiations,
– undermines your policies
– decreases margins and revenues
– doesn’t improve your win rate over time

If you can’t maintain consistency in decision-making rationale at different org hierarchy levels why bother having company policies?

Executives should be aware of this dynamic and avoid riding in on their white horse at quarter end, compromising on price or important terms and conditions.

Imagine how angry your coparent gets when you cave after they said no? This is what executives are doing to their employees, undermining their authority and handicapping their future success.




In totally unrelated news, the German title for Bridget Jone’s Diary is Schokolade zum Frühstück.