Episode 163: Amy Trask – Former NFL CEO: “You Negotiate Like A Girl”

Amy Trask is an analyst for CBS Sports and CBS Sports Network. She appears regularly on That Other Pregame Show and We Need to Talk and periodically on NFL Today. She is the former CEO of the Oakland Raiders.

The Princess of Darkness. Former NFL team executive Amy Trask has held many titles during her career – including chief executive, analyst, and author – but this nickname is what she is first and foremost known by to Raiders fans. Amy joined the Raiders as an intern during law school after the team moved from Oakland to Los Angeles – the position the result of a cold call she made to the team. From there, she worked her way up through the ranks of the organization, to the post she would eventually hold as chief executive. Along the way, Amy worked extremely closely with the late Al Davis, a man who treated her and others on his team without regard to gender, race, and age. Amy  may have been the highest-ranking female executive in the NFL during her tenure with the Raiders, but in You Negotiate Like a Girl: Reflections on a Career in the National Football League, she shares how she found success by operating without regard to gender. Replete with insider tales about being part of the Raiders’ front office, behind the closed doors of NFL owners meetings, and Davis himself, Trask’s book is a must-read not only for football fans, but anyone who wants to succeed in business. (Bio from Amazon.com) (Picture from Yahoo!)

Episode 163: Amy Trask – Former Raiders CEO: “You Negotiate Like A Girl”

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The Learning Leader Show

“No matter your industry, don’t build walls: Communicate, Cooperate, Collaborate, Coordinate.”

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

  • “To thine own self be true” — Be yourself, focus on working hard and forging your own path
  • As a graduate student, Amy cold called the Raiders asking for an unpaid internship
  • 14 years later, she was hired as the CEO of the team
  • The key was looking for projects to be part of (even if she wasn’t initially chosen to do it) and add value to it
  • Approaching work with an intense curiosity – Amy learned every role within the Raiders — Even stuffing envelopes the proper way
  • Learn about all parts of the overall business, not just what you do
  • Amy was hired to work on contracts, but she ended up doing many different roles
  • “Don’t ever view something as “Not My Responsibility” – If you see it’s a problem, then fix it”
  • The day to day life of a CEO of an NFL team
  • The Four C’s To A Successful Career – Communicate, Cooperate, Collaborate, Coordinate
  • “The only people not making mistakes are the ones who aren’t trying”
  • “You Negotiate Like A Girl” – Why use that title? Amy has operated without regard to gender her entire career
  • The original title for her book was “Without Regard”
  • Keys to being a great negotiator:
    • You must find out what’s important to each party… Some of the issues will be of no importance (let the opposing party have what is important to them if it’s not important to you)
    • “The best deals were forged when sitting alongside someone collaborating.”
    • No posturing, no lying — Tell the truth
    • Openly share what’s important — Create transparency

“To thine own self be true”

Continue Learning:

You may also like these episodes:

Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon

Episode 071: Nate Boyer – Green Beret, Texas Football, The NFL

Episode 073: Jay Bilas – World Class ESPN Basketball Broadcaster, Toughness, Fixing The NCAA

Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why

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Episode edited by the great J Scott Donnell

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