Assume the Relationship You Want

The tone of a relationship can be set the first time you meet someone. With that in mind, it's important to set the right tone from the start. You can be a friendly peer, respectful adversary, junior employee, angry customer or possibly the big boss. Before you walk into that first meeting, decide the kind of relationship you prefer to have, then act as if that relationship exists. You may not get your preference to stick, but if you leave the kind of relationship that you form up to the whim of the other guy, you will probably end up as the junior employee. Take the lead in acting the way you want the relationship to form, and you are more likely to make it so.