In Harriet Martin’s highly entertaining book “Kings of Peace, Pawns of War,” she describes in detail how peace-making negotiations are handled by some of the world’s most accomplished mediators. While peace-making negotiations are different to business negotiations, not least of all with regards to time-frame and number of constituents involved, there are some very interesting aspects which cross-over.
Let’s start with Lakhdar Brahimi, historically the UN’s “go-to” man for the most unwanted of tasks including peace-making in Afghanistan, Lebanon and Syria, and the only diplomat to have established enough trust to meet face-to-face with Taliban leader Mullah Omar and get out alive!
Below is how Brahimi sees negotiations; and who amongst others things likes to remind everyone that; i) the parties can be a lot more sophisticated, or conversely, a lot less sophisticated than they look and ii) one should never forget that “timing is everything.”
| Political Negotiations | Implications for Business |
| No-one is going to get 100% of what they want. | If you want an implementable deal, you will almost certainly have to accept imperfection. |
| It is illusory to think that peace can be achieved or imposed on faction leaders who are determined to fight to the death. | It’s senseless to negotiate with someone who is being intransigent. Even if a deal is reached through the sheer willpower of an individual, the likelihood of it being sustainable is negligible. |
| I don’t go to places like Syria and Afghanistan just to meet nice people. | Talk to as many people as possible in order to get the widest possible perspective. |
| Look to create a rapport with the various parties but not necessarily a friendship. | Negotiation is fundamentally about interests not friendships. |
| Place an emphasis on defining what makes a situation unique. | Although many business dealings have similarities, there is uniqueness about each and every one. Take the time to work out what it is and what it means. |
| Apply the principle of “navigation by sight.” | Make no assumptions, navigate the negotiations by sight and sound. |
| Try to develop a consensus across a broad cross-section of political leadership. | Try to hard wire organisations, building relationships across functions, hierarchically and geographically. |
| Do not allow opening speeches which lead to sides adopting entrenched positions. | Make sure the opening doesn’t sabotage the negotiations. |
| Set achievable objectives which can often be transitional or “next step” in nature as opposed to objectives which are only end-game oriented | The purpose of negotiation is what happens after the deal is signed so work incrementally in order to maintain momentum |
| You always need leverage but often it’s simple and subtle e.g. leverage can be about reassurance and the status quo. | The main pressure points will be obvious to both sides, vigorously disputed and end in compromise. So instead, look for the subtleties and aspects of deal uniqueness to lever. |