All your covenants belongs to us! Why do you fail in negotiation with your boss, and how to win back?

Russian bosses usually negotiate by substituting a contract clause with a covenant without you knowing the difference. Covenant is a one-way obligation, like an oath, non-hire agreement, or promise to deliver on the project without time, people, and money. This is coming like a street shakedown. He’s coming at you saying that you owe to show what you have got. There is no bargain and exchange ‘you give me money I don’t beat you’ initially (though later it is). It is a covenant, not a contract clause. You just ought to show what you have got, without any promises in return, what the guy is doing from his side. If you do that, you accepted the covenant, and now you’re on, baby. That is exactly how the talk goes. You think you are negotiating, but you’re not. You accepted the covenant, and 1–2–3, you’re done in no time. You must deliver even though the boss does not (no time, money, people, the blame is all yours). That’s not a bargain, that’s the deal, and you should know the difference by now.

What to do? If you have recognized covenant in the boss’s talk and don’t trust him to award it in the future, say something back. ‘Ok, I got you, but what should you do for me deliver? Under what conditions can I say that my obligations are off? When do I quit trying?’ It would be best if you did black magic, negate covenant before it’s too late.

It’s best to think about yourself as a human resource, with its performance, limitations, capability to do the job, and, finally, cost. The price that you must be paid to sustain the resource up and running. Unwilling covenants are just a waste that must be avoided.