Become a Master at Micro-Negotiations

More Than Salary

Over the course of this series, we’ve explored ten key negotiations every academic physician must master—from value and legacy to health, energy, rest, resources, team, the 80%, schedule, and boundaries. These negotiations are hard. They don’t happen automatically, and they certainly don’t happen overnight.

What’s striking is that only a fraction of what we’ve covered directly relates to salary. Too often, negotiation is reduced to a single question: “Can I earn more?” Yes, salary matters—and you absolutely should negotiate for it—but your career depends on so much more.

The daily, often-overlooked decisions—the micro-negotiations—are what shape your long-term success.

Micro-Negotiations Matter

Macro-negotiations (like securing your first job offer or renegotiating your salary) are important milestones. But micro-negotiations—the everyday decisions about your time, your team, your boundaries, your priorities—determine whether you thrive in the long run.

Even if you stumble in a macro-negotiation, you can often recover through skillful micro-negotiations. Over time, they allow you to reclaim ground you may have lost and build the career and life you deserve. That’s why becoming a strong micro-negotiator isn’t optional—it’s essential.

Learn, Practice, and Strengthen Your Negotiation Skills

If these posts have resonated with you but you’re not sure how to put them into practice, I’d love to invite you to take the next step.

• Masterclass: Negotiate Your First, Next, or Current Job: We run this masterclass multiple times because the lessons bear repeating. Whether you’re entering your first position, renegotiating a current role, or preparing for a transition, this is where you can sharpen your skills and gain practical strategies.

• Academic Negotiation Academy: For those ready for deeper accountability and support, the Academy is a 12-week intensive program. Think of it as a boot camp for mastering both macro and micro-negotiations. In it, we cover everything from salary negotiations to daily strategies that protect your time, energy, and focus.

The Academy is where you’ll build habits of negotiation that extend beyond your career—into your whole life.

Imagine the Possibilities

Imagine what your career would look like if you mastered the art of micro-negotiations. Imagine the kind of legacy you could leave if you aligned your daily choices with your long-term vision.

Concluding the Series

This series has been about not just negotiating better salaries, but negotiating a better life.

Thank you for journeying through these ten negotiations with me. I look forward to continuing the conversation—and to seeing some of you in the masterclass or Academy.

Your future as a skilled negotiator starts now.