No matter whether you are negotiating a pay rise, holidays or working on deal with a seller or buyer, there are certain rules or principles that will help you succeed.

1. Focus on interests, and not your positions. Positions are fixed, but each of you may have interests which need to be met. Fixed items can put your negotiations into a corner.

You’ve got 120 hours of spare time this week. How are you going to spend it?

We are delighted to announce a great way for Chamber members and their employees to take advantage of their free time with the LiveOne20 card. LiveOne20 is a unique scheme bringing together the very best of Liverpool’s lifestyle, all wrapped up into one convenient smartcard.

Liverpool Chamber is undertaking a survey on behalf of Responsibility North West to assess the value of business networks across the region. We’re looking at how useful the networks are at generating business both inside and outside the region and how you bring new ideas in to your company.

The closing date for returning the questionnaire is 20th March 2007. The results of this survey will be made available on the Mersey Economy website in April. Visit the Mersey Economy site and click on surveys to share your views.

Five laptops and a widescreen TV are up for grabs in a fantastic Microsoft competition to celebrate the launch of Office 2007 Small Business Edition and Windows Vista Business.

In its 2007 Budget submission the British Chambers of Commerce is highlighting the difficulties SMEs face in dealing with the many layers of government that complicate, rather than make easier, the day to day lives of businesses.

Despite comprising 99.9 per cent of the private sector there is a growing feeling amongst SMEs that they are an afterthought, with big businesses being the focus of attention.

The Daily Post and Echo are interested featuring you! If you are a woman in business who can give us a real success story, perhaps you have set up your own successful business or have achieved a senior management position in the face of adversity, then send us an email telling us about your route to success!

If you manufacture, import or re-brand electrical and electronic equipment (EEE), you have only got two days to register your business.

Producers must join a producer compliance scheme and be registered with an environmental regulator by 15 March 2007.

Key dates for the enforcement of WEEE regulations
The regulations came into force on 2 January 2007.
Producers have to join a compliance scheme by 15 March 2007.
Producers have to mark electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) by 1 April 2007.
Full responsibility for treating and recycling household WEEE begins on 1 July 2007.