Are lessons from Kissinger's 1970s diplomacy really useful for my negotiations today in business, law, or public policy?
Nick, Bob, and I have carried out, observed, studied, taught, and written books about negotiations in many domains beyond diplomacy. We consciously analyzed Kissinger's record not only for its diplomatic implications but also for its insights into complex dealmaking in other areas. The themes we uncover and explore apply to challenging negotiations across the board. Such insights include:
what it actually means to act "strategically" in negotiation
how to realistically assess whether an agreement potentially exists;
how a "wide-angle lens" and game-changing moves away from the negotiating table can create space for a deal and enable favorable outcomes at the table;
how careful sequencing, coalition building, and handling those who would block a deal are keys to multiparty effectiveness; the importance and means for truly understanding, reading, and building rapport with your counterparts;
how assertiveness and empathy can be productively combined;
how to act opportunistically as circumstances shift while maintaining a strategic perspective;
how dogged persistence rather than blinding insights is often the essential ingredient for success; as well as effective (and ineffective) ways to make proposals, frame concessions, build credibility, utilize "constructive ambiguity," embark on "shuttles" among the parties rather than deal with them together, and when to opt for an open versus a secret process.
Beyond these specifics, we believe that readers who do not envision themselves in diplomatic roles will see the value—in their own worlds—of cultivating an unusual but powerful aspect of Kissinger's negotiation practice: how he consistently integrates the strategic with the interpersonal. A common image depicts Kissinger as a geopolitical grandmaster, dispassionately moving pieces on a global chessboard As became increasingly evident to us in writing this book, he would indeed "zoom out" to the strategic but also would "zoom in" to the interpersonal. This was not a two-step process of first envisioning the deal at a strategic level, then executing it interpersonally. Rather it was a highly iterative approach, constantly maintaining both macro and micro perspectives, while seeking to bring the two into alignment via productive agreements.
Though we are confident that these negotiating insights can be applied beyond the world of diplomacy. it is not necessary to, take our word for it.
Steve Schwarzman, co-founder, Chairman, and CEO of Blackstone, one of the world's largest private equity firms, found our book "exciting to read," and said that those "who spend their lives negotiating important matters will as well. [It should be] required reading for those interested in affecting the world of affairs."
John Chambers is a notable technology executive who, as Chairman and CEO of Cisco Systems, piloted his firm from $1.2 billion to over $50 billion in sales. He observed that this book was able "to get to the root of [Kissinger's] tactics and success and share practical insights for readers." Further, Chambers would "highly recommend Kissinger the Negotiator for anyone facing challenging negotiations in business or diplomacy."
Former Secretary of State James Baker, who was an apolitical oil and gas lawyer in Houston until he was 40, found that the book "offers keen insight for anyone interested or involved in negotiations at any level." [And though his judgment is hardly disinterested, Henry Kissinger—whose lengthy post-government career, since 1977, has heavily consisted of advising corporate clients—wrote that "Every CEO, diplomat, and dealmaker facing complex negotiation challenges will benefit from reading this book."]