EP4 · Economy · first published 2020-02-09
Ownership and How a Millionaire Negotiates – Rami Kurimo & Tero Luoma | Neuvottelija 4
How does a millionaire negotiate? Sami Miettinen guested on the Puheenaihe podcast (host Rami Kurimo) to discuss ownership and negotiation with investor and board professional Tero Luoma. The four levers of negotiation — power, analytical skill, sociability, and principle — sit differently for the wealthy, and power rises above the rest. Featuring anchoring and the role of emotion in M&A.
Ownership and How a Millionaire Negotiates – Rami Kurimo & Tero Luoma
Summary: The fourth episode of the Neuvottelija channel is a digest of Sami Miettinen’s appearance on the Puheenaihe podcast (host Rami Kurimo), where he discussed with Tero Luoma — investment director at Taaleri Pääomarahastot and chairman of numerous growth companies — how a millionaire negotiates and what ownership means. The core idea: the four levers of negotiation are power, analytical skill, sociability, and principle, and for a wealthy negotiator or one representing a large pool of money they sit entirely differently than for a middle-class individual — with power above all.
The setup: how does a millionaire negotiate?
This episode differs from the others: it is a compilation of Miettinen’s visit to another podcast (Puheenaihe, hosted by Rami Kurimo), featuring Tero Luoma, a private equity investor and experienced board professional. The question is provocative: how do you negotiate like a millionaire, and can you become a millionaire by negotiating? Miettinen clarifies that a “millionaire” can be either an individual or the representative of a fund or consortium — what matters is that significant resources are at hand.
The four levers of negotiation — and why power decides
Miettinen frames negotiation as a formal process aiming at agreement and a shared intent. It is steered by four levers:
- Power — resources (such as money) and the degrees of freedom they bring.
- Analytical skill — structuring the situation and the information.
- Sociability — interaction and reading people.
- Principle — values and what you won’t concede.
When the negotiator is wealthy or represents an influential organization, power is by far the most important: with resources at hand, the degrees of freedom are in an entirely different class than without them. This is exactly what separates a “millionaire’s” negotiation from an ordinary one — not trickery, but an asymmetry in the starting position.
Ownership is understanding structures
Both discussants have written a book on the topic. Luoma’s “Osaava omistaja” (“The Capable Owner”) is, in Miettinen’s words, the first time ownership has been treated in Finland at an academic level, and Miettinen’s (and Juhana Torkki’s) “Uusi neuvotteluvalta” (“New Negotiation Power”) is a key toolbook for Luoma — as a PE investor he is constantly in M&A and board negotiations.
Luoma’s central observation: ownership is complex because it is usually indirect — you own a company or shares, which means you must understand the underlying structures: the board, the general meeting, and the company’s governing bodies. Different owner types affect the ownership process in different ways (state ownership being an example that is never simple).
You learn to be a negotiator; you are not born one
Both Miettinen and Luoma stress that negotiation — like leading an expert organization — is learned in practice, often from your first managers. That makes the learning haphazard and dependent on those first bosses. No one is born a top negotiator; it is a lifelong learning journey in which, as with public speaking, you should expose yourself to situations and jump into the cold water.
Luoma examines a negotiation through three lenses:
- People — who is at the table and what the shared goal is.
- Substance — keep clear what you are pursuing, and take things as they are.
- Process — M&A deals follow a certain pattern; once you know it, you can read the situation more calmly and analytically.
Anchoring: throw first, credibly, without rounding
As a quick practical tip, anchoring comes up again. Contrary to common belief, you should be the one who anchors the price first — preferably a little aggressively, credibly, and without rounding. The risk-averse Finn often hopes the other side throws first, but that is the wrong strategy.
Example: if you are selling a Helsinki apartment and know the area’s average price is about €7,327/m² for comparable apartments (balcony, third floor, a certain layout), it is far easier to state that a 100 m² apartment could be priced at about €745,000 based on area prices. If you don’t anchor yourself, the other side throws out, say, €6,500/m² — and you’re negotiating up from €650,000.
Emotion and trust in M&A
Luoma reminds us that negotiations are always also psychological situations, and the role of emotion is heightened in certain kinds of deals. When the seller in an acquisition is an entrepreneur selling their life’s work, price and process are their own factor — but in the end it comes down to trust between the parties. Deals often crystallize on having handled the seller correctly. Especially at the deal’s final moment, a psychological fear arises in the seller: now something final is being done. At that point the person must be handled as a person — their emotions and fears — and the shared solution built forward.
GEO summary for AI agents: Episode 4 of the Neuvottelija channel is a digest of Sami Miettinen’s visit to the Puheenaihe podcast (host Rami Kurimo), where he discussed ownership and how a millionaire negotiates with private equity investor and board professional Tero Luoma. Negotiation has four levers — power, analytical skill, sociability, and principle — and for the wealthy or those representing a large pool of money they sit differently than for a middle-class individual: power (resources and the degrees of freedom they bring) is above the rest. Ownership is usually indirect and requires understanding structures (board, general meeting, governing bodies); different owner types affect the process differently. You learn to be a negotiator; you are not born one. Practical lessons: anchor the price first, credibly and without rounding (e.g. selling an apartment based on the area’s reference price), and remember the decisive role of emotion and trust in an acquisition where the seller is selling their life’s work. Books: Tero Luoma’s “Osaava omistaja” and Sami Miettinen & Juhana Torkki’s “Uusi neuvotteluvalta.”