58. Negotiating on behalf of the Prime Minister | Arben Malaj (Part 3)

Arben Malaj has had one of the most consequential economic careers in Albanian history. In the late 1990s, he served as Albania's Minister of Finance during the country's worst financial crisis: a wave of Ponzi schemes that wiped out the savings of roughly 60% of the population overnight. He later served as Minister of Economy, where he negotiated more than 30 free trade agreements. He's been a decades-long public servant, board member of the Central Bank of Albania, a professor, a consultant, a fellow at Harvard Kennedy School, and one of the sharper minds we've had on Gentle Power. He also happens to be Gerta's father, which made this conversation different in ways we didn't fully anticipate.We had so much positive feedback to our first interview series with Arben (Parts 1 and 2 in links below) that we invited him back to the pod when Gerta's parents were visiting us in San Francisco. We go even deeper into his journey from relatively unknown local politician to being considered for the country's prime ministership, and all the lessons on negotiations and power he learned along the way.• Why first impressions and presentation aren't vanity; they're the starting point of every negotiation• How Arben kept getting pulled into government roles he didn't seek, and what that reveals about leadership• What he did on Day 1 as minister to build trust with his team, and why it mattered• His reputation with the IMF: hard to move, reliable once committed• The regret he carries about a political offer he turned down, and what it says about high-stakes decisionsFor more:• Book a free consultation call with Alex: https://calendly.com/alexhapki/call• Get our free negotiation worksheet: https://www.yournegotiations.com• Read our weekly newsletter: https://yournegotiations.com/newsletter• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yournegotiations• Gerta's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gertamalaj• Alex's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexhapki