Why Read "Kissinger the Negotiator"?
Apart from my views, summarized below, what do leaders—from the worlds of business, finance, diplomacy, law, tech, and letters—see as its value, especially for those who face today’s toughest deals and disputes?
Kissinger the Negotiator is a fascinating book about one of the most talented and unique strategists on the world stage who is thoughtful, strategic, charming when necessary and assertive when not. There is lots to learn by having his most important negotiations analyzed by academic experts who had extensive discussions with him about the thought process that drove his strategic and tactical choices in highly challenging situations. I found the book exciting to read. Others who spend their lives negotiating important matters will as well. Required reading for those interested in affecting the world of affairs. —STEPHEN A SCHWARZMAN, Chairman, CEO and Co-Founder, Blackstone
Henry Kissinger was a masterly negotiator with a sense of both tactics and strategy. This book, based on deep interviews and research, shows his strengths and weaknesses as well as a negotiator and, most importantly, the lessons to be learned from his most complex endeavors. --WALTER ISAACSON, Professor of History (Tulane), author of Kissinger: A Biography, Leonardo da Vinci, Steve Jobs, Einstein, and Benjamin Franklin
The authors of Kissinger the Negotiator, James K. Sebenius, R. Nicholas Burns and Robert H. Mnookin, are an all-star trio of experts on negotiation in business, law and diplomacy. . . [They] have done a great service in elucidating the actions of a very skilled American diplomat.”–from a full page review in the SundayNEW YORK TIMES
(More evaluations—from James A. Baker, Charlene Barshefsky, and John Chambers—are at the end of this post.)
Origins. Along with my co-authors, Nick Burns and Bob Mnookin, I drew on our lengthy conversations with Henry Kissinger to write this book. We alsocarefully studied his writings and those of many others, both highly critical and supportive, who have analyzed his negotiations and policies. Our conversations were part of an initiative to conduct in-depth, videotaped interviews with all former U.S. Secretaries of State. The goal: to extract analytic and prescriptive insights from their most challenging negotiations. Our overall project is slated to become a three-part WGBH series. So far, we’ve completed seven, often day-long interviews with Henry Kissinger, George Shultz, James Baker, Madeleine Albright, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, Hillary Clinton, and John Kerry next.
Rationale. Why, however, did we choose to focus on the complex and controversial Kissinger and his diplomatic negotiations from the 1970s for insights on today’s toughest deals and disputes?
First, he was a truly remarkable negotiator. Walter Isaacson, his influential and often-critical biographer, called him the “foremost American negotiator” of his time.While rancorous political and social divisions polarized the United States, especially over the bloody Vietnam War—sound familiar?—Kissinger played key negotiating roles in the opening to China after decades of mutual hostility, détente and the first nuclear arms control treaty with the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War, the Paris peace accords with North Vietnam after years of bitter conflict (though the deal collapsed after two years), and Egyptian and Syrian disengagement deals with Israel following their 1973 war—that have endured to this day. In addition, Kissinger worked out a significant but largely forgotten agreement with Rhodesia’s Ian Smith to accept black majority rule seventeenyears beforethe end of apartheid in South Africa.
Little wonder that, when recently polled, over 1600 international relations experts—from across the political spectrum—overwhelmingly rated Kissinger as the most effective secretary of state during the last half-century (not taking into account his multiple roles in the Simpsons and Family Guy!)
Second, no one had deeply examined at Kissinger as a negotiator. When we took on this project, Kissinger’s geopolitical insights, often-controversial policies, and individual negotiations had been extensively analyzed. Yet quite surprisingly to us, no serious cross-cutting study of Kissinger’s overall approach to negotiation had been undertaken. Hence our motivation for this book. We sought to answer key questions that offer valuable lessons for today’s negotiators: How did Kissinger do these deals? What strategies and tactics worked and what failed? Why, how, and under what conditions? What ethical challenges does his approach present?
This book neither aims to judge Kissinger nor to set the historical record straight. Rather, by plumbing a career of extraordinary effectiveness, it seeks to learn as much as possible, extracting useful insights into the art and science of negotiation from Kissinger’s dealmaking at the highest level.
FAQs. At book presentations and elsewhere, people often ask me questions such as those below. Much fuller answers can be found here.
➢ Relevance? “Diplomacy and history interest me, but my negotiations are of a different kind (e.g., business, law, finance, not-for-profit, etc.). What relevance do Kissinger’s pre-social media international negotiations from the 1970s have for my challenges? Short answer: “a great deal.” Fuller answer here.
➢ Morality? “Given Kissinger’s controversial policies on Cambodia, Chile, and elsewhere, some critics condemn him as anywhere between ‘amoral’ and ‘war criminal.’ Why glorify this particular negotiator?” Short answer: we don’t glorify him, and often disagree with him. Yet we can learn a lot from studying his approach. Fuller answer here.
➢ Length? At 448 pages, this book looks really long; if I were to read just one part of it, what do you suggest to get a feel for the analysis? Answer: the introductory material and chapters 1-3 of the 14 total chapters. Note: a full one-third of the book’s length consists of notes, references, etc. Fuller answer here.
➢ More such questions and links to my (longer) answers can be found here.
More evaluations of Kissinger the Negotiator
Henry Kissinger’s acute understanding of all aspects of international negotiations, from his close attention to detail to his uncanny ability to craft effective negotiating strategies, has made him one of the most highly regarded diplomats in American history. Kissinger the Negotiator is a straightforward examination of Kissinger’s finely honed skills in statecraft that offers keen insight for anyone interested or involved in negotiations at any level. —JAMES A. BAKER III, sixty-first U.S. secretary of state
This book is terrific!–CHARLENE BARSHEFSKY, former US Special Trade Representative, now Senior International Partner at Wilmer Hale
Henry Kissinger’s negotiating record is legendary. In this engaging book, the authors were able to get to the root of his tactics and successes, and share practical insights for readers. I would highly recommend Kissinger the Negotiator for anyone facing challenging negotiations in business or diplomacy.
—JOHN CHAMBERS, chairman emeritus, Cisco Systems, Inc., and CEO, JC2 Ventures
Audio and Video
A perceptive host, Jonathan Movroydis, wrote a nice introduction and review of Kissinger the Negotiator to accompany a comprehensive three-part podcast interview of me about many aspects of the book. Read and listen here.
Aroop Mukharji of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School did a lengthy interview of me about the book. Listen here and see two video excerpts below.
