Posts

Showing posts from March, 2018

The Art of the Deal - As learned from the Egyptians

Image
Having been written almost over 30 years ago, I felt "The Art of the Deal" needed an update. The Donald negotiates for reasons of pride and greed. Those in developing countries such as Egypt may negotiate for pride and greed but, for many, they negotiate for survival. Tourism accounts for about  Dudes waiting for tourists to ride their camels & ponies 12% of GDP and about the same percentage of employment. The average annual income in Egypt was $2724 U.S. in 2016 or $3509 Canadian. So, when men (and they're always men) hawk their merchandise and service to tourists on the banks of the Nile in Cairo, Luxor, or Aswan or at the entrance to the pyramids in Giza, they are not looking for money to purchase a new car or bigger house. In all likelihood they need money to feed their family (often large), send their kids to school or feed their horse or camel.   When my wife and I had only been in Egypt a few hours, we were given a lesson in the art of the deal I will n