What is Bartering & How it Works

What is Bartering & How it Works

The following post is from Full Circle: 101 Short Stories, Essays, and Insights to Improve Communication Skills

Bartering is when you have something I want and I have something you want.

We trade.

 

This works well in 1-on-1 interactions.

But this dynamic becomes difficult in scaled interactions.

 

Since it becomes difficult, we create a unit of measurement to takeaway the uncertainty.

We call that unit, money.

 

But I don’t see bartering being a lost act.

Those who can spot bartering in any transaction will thrive.

 

People don’t just want money.

They want the primal resources that the money symbolizes.

 

Last year, I wanted to rebuild my website.

I wanted to make it leaner and cleaner.

 

My web developer and I have had a great relationship for 4 years.

He knows how the site works inside and out.

He said he would rebuild it last year.

 

However, the site has yet to be rebuilt.

What gives?

 

I contacted him a few times.

Each time, he gave blurry responses.

 

He has been a reliable source.

So, I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt.

 

One day, he tells me:

‘Hey Arman, my wife is pregnant. And I’m working on your site while taking care of some personal issues.’

 

I said:

‘Okay, no problem.’

 

The website was something I wanted to work on.

But it wasn’t a top priority either.

I went back to business as usual with other tasks.

 

He contacted me a few days ago.

He wrote:

‘Hi Arman, hope you’re well. I was blessed with a daughter.’

 

He typed this differently than our regular convos.

We are normally straight business with each other.

 

I’ve never made a joke with him nor has he made one with me.

And I normally ask him qs, where he gives me 1-word responses (which I prefer).

 

But something about this message was out of character.

Implying it was important.

 

I congratulated him.

 

He said he was ready to get back to work.

But I said:

‘You can take your time to be a dad. The project will still be here for you.’

 

He was happy by that gesture.

And he took a break.

 

He contacted me today and said he was ready this time.

Due to the delay, he was getting more members on the project and shaving the cost.

 

I didn’t need any cost shaved.

The quote he initially gave was more than fair.

 

If you look closely, 2 people bartering with each other.

When you look past the money, you will see the primal sides.

 

He wanted to embrace fatherhood.

I wanted to be treated fairly.

 

His act of shaving away the money was implying:

‘Yo, my bad for the delay.’

 

These subtle forms of communication happen all the time.

And when you can spot the subtle, you are better suited to thrive in the new economy.

 

Flashback…

 

Ancestor A had tomatoes.

Ancestor B had yams.

A wants yams.

B wants tomatoes.

 

The 2 make a trade.

SYNERGY.

 

Present…

 

You have the tomatoes that someone else seeks.

Others have the yams that you seek.

Make a fair trade.

And create SYNERGY.

 

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