Stanford Technology Ventures Program; Arbor Advisors
Stan Christensen is a partner at Arbor Advisors, an investment banking firm where he negotiates on behalf of mid-market technology companies. He has nearly twenty years of experience in both transactional and operations roles and has worked on hundreds of transactions. Before starting Arbor, he was the General Manager of Eazel, a Linux-based software startup. He started his career in corporate finance on Wall Street, and then worked for ten years with CMG, a negotiation advisory firm affiliated with The Harvard Negotiation Project. In this capacity he worked with corporations and governments-advising, negotiating, and mediating transactions and conflicts. In 1996 he was selected as a Kellogg Fellow for his work in the non-profit and public sectors. He is a member of The Council On Foreign Relations and currently teaches a course on Negotiation at Stanford University in The School of Engineering.
He holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.A. from Brigham Young University.
Related Links: stvp.stanford.edu arboradvisors.com/
Last Updated: Mon, Oct 30, 2006
Stan Christensen, a partner at Arbor Advisors, offers advice on transactional negotiations and relationship management geared toward the student embarking upon their career. Topics covered include choosing a career, on-the-job expectations, work/life balance, and benefit mediation
Stan Christensen is a partner at Arbor Advisors, an investment banking firm where he negotiates on behalf of mid-market technology companies. In this lecture, Christensen builds a framework and illuminates a few of the classical mistakes in negotiation. He defines negotiation as an attempt to persuade or influence a situation. He emphasizes relationship management and problem solving as being fundamental to negotiation. He also alludes to the conceptual framework by illustrating examples from his vast global experience.
Steve Young, former quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, describes the lessons he's learned in negotiating with teammates, agents, and in his personal life. Interviewed as a guest in Stan Christensen's Negotiations course, Young provides insight through humorous anecdotes across a broad range of experience. In particular, he describes different negotiation tactics that were useful throughout his career as a quarterback, lawyer, and entrepreneur. While earning his spot as the fiery leader of the 49ers, balancing life with children, and undergoing multiple business ventures, Young highlights the use of accountability, soft skills to deal with personal feelings, and working hard with no excuses, to achieve success.
Stanford lecturer and Arbor Advisors Managing Director Stan Christensen discusses legal issues related to startups and entrepreneurs with attorney Martin Nichols, partner at DLA Piper. The conversation covers selecting and working with legal advisors, issues of compensation and negotiation, and the need for entrepreneurs and companies to always seek practical and efficient advice.
Attorney Martin Nichols shares subjective early filters to use when trying to find a proficient attorney. Beyond these basic measurements, a difference in quality will be found in each attorney's ability to get deals done. Nichols suggests finding an attorney who can also be a solid advisor and a true value-add for your company.
Individuals or startups seeking legal advice need to obtain solid referrals on all prospective attorneys. Martin Nichols, partner at legal firm DLA Piper, believes entrepreneurs often don't need big legal teams, but should always seek efficient legal teams.
Billing is less of an issue, if you build a relationship with legal advisors you trust, says attorney Martin Nichols. Entrepreneurs should share their acceptable fee ranges with attorneys, but they may also be able to work out fee caps and flat rates for services. Clients can help ensure the best service from attorneys by showing mutual respect through offering referrals and paying bills on time.
Attorney Martin Nichols suggests separating legal issues from business issues before entering into negotiations. This strategy is often very helpful, particularly in face-to-face negotiations. In meetings and conference calls, Nichols sets out an agenda and key issues, and then tries to come up with a basket of issues for the business people to try and work out with their counterparts.
Attorney Martin Nichols believes clients should receive the best practical advice from an attorney, even when the client is in a legally superior position during a negotiation. Nichols shares an anecdote where he needed to explain to a client the practical value of not fighting for a previously agreed on payment, to avoid being exposed to legal costs of an even greater amount. 
According to attorney Martin Nichols, entrepreneurs need to have a great deal of trust when sharing intellectual property with venture capitalists, as VCs often will not sign non-disclosure agreements. If a client is working on patentable technologies, Nichols suggests trying to button up those issues before going to meetings.
The industry norm is for attorneys not to take equity or a board seat as forms of compensation from startups, says attorney Martin Nichols. In Silicon Valley, fee deferrals are far more normal. Big legal firms may be less likely to work with small startups due to time and revenue constraints, but a smaller firm may not be able to provide a startup with everything that is needed when it comes time for big transactions, such as mergers and acquisitions.
Secretary Shultz discusses what he learned about negotiation while serving in both the Nixon and Reagan administrations. Topics covered include how to know when to go to the negotiation table, the role of trust in negotiation, confronting the dilemma of when to use force in a dispute, as well as the Secretary's opinions on negotiating in the current political landscape. Current events covered include the Arab Israeli conflict, the war in Afganistan, the fall of the Soviet Union, and how the media has changed the modern negotiation landscape. 
Do as much informational interviewing as you can, advises Arbor Advisors partner Stan Christensen, who, through the practice, learned that law school was not a good fit for his interests. Learning the specifics of a prospective career from a distance is an enriching road map to a career path that might not suit you. And, potentially, it can save time, money, and emotional distress. 
Stan Christensen, partner at Arbor Advisors and Stanford instructor, advises those planning a career not to be overly concerned with a linear path. While certainly there are some jobs that require specific training and expertise, the majority of positions in the business world are available to the savvy and the willful who are willing to work their way in.
Stan Christensen, Stanford instructor and a partner at Arbor Advisors, outlines a few of the erroneous career assumptions that land workers in an ill-fitting career. Don't take a job simply to build your resume; follow your passions, rather than guessing what an employer will want. The fun should outweigh the drudgery - even in entry-level positions. Don't feel that by taking one job, you're committing to a career; people switch teams often. And remain a generalist, rather than specializing in a single pursuit, as this will retain your flexibility and keep your skills from becoming irrelevant. 
An overbearing career is unhealthy, says Stan Christensen, Arbor Advisors Partner. Rather than working long hours, Christensen relays a successful negotiation with his manager explaining his interests outside of work. He asked to be judged by the tasks he completed, and not by the amount of hours he was in the workplace. He recalls that the results were fewer long evenings and weekends at his desk, earning him respect and the time needed for his own pursuits.
All organizations of employment have a political structure and revolve around the subtle arts of negotiation and relationship management. How we treat our peers - particularly our subordinates - speaks a lot about a person's character, say Arbor Advisors partner Stan Christensen. Particularly when it comes to difficult conversations - discussing problems, giving negative feedback, etc. - those who can do so with tact to all members of the organization are certain to elegantly progress.
Stanford instructor and Arbor Advisors partner Stan Christensen strongly advises career carvers to save salary negotiations for last, and not to overlook the myriad other topics of new employment to be discussed, including time off, assignment specifics, start dates, etc. When it is time to discuss dollars, do your due diligence and have competitive salaries at hand. This will make asking for more money a mere matter of fact, rather than an emotional escapade. Other tips include getting promises in writing, and dealing directly with your future boss whenever possible.
Men and women do indeed negotiate for compensation differently, says Stan Christensen, Arbor Advisors partner and Stanford instructor. He cites one study where 60 percent of men asked for more money, whereas women with comparable backgrounds asked for more money only ten percent of the time.