Negotiation Wisdom from Dr. Henry Kissinger

"The task of the leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been."  - Dr. Henry Kissinger

Last week I was fortunate to be part of a conversation between Dr. Henry Kissinger and Rabbi Peter Rubinstein. Dr. Kissinger shared his insight and knowledge that he acquired during his long and esteemed career, which is still happening. 

I found Dr. Kissinger's comments on negotiation extremely interesting. Some of my favorite take-aways:

• A great negotiator remembers history ... like the fact that Russia was founded in Kiev, and that Kiev remained Russian for hundreds of years.
• A great negotiator understands the goals of his counterpart. Putin is rebuilding a broken empire with considerable approval from the Russian population.
• Executive conference calls don't work.  Too many people expect their boss to win.
• China thinks of itself as a thousand years old civilization, not a country. 
• Never lose your temper or show that you are under time constraints.
• Understand your opponents' mindset. Know what their end goal is.
• The US tries to solve problems quickly.  China's leadership believes not all problems have solutions, but only lead to more problems. Therefore, China is in no hurry to take action. They just monitor how things develop over a few hundred years.

Keep Moving Forward

One 97 degree day in July a few years ago, I ran a 24 hour relay race with my 85 year old great uncle. He has actually been the inspiration for me and my brother as we have embarked on many crazy endurance events. Once you get to know my uncle, you find out he’s not superhuman or really any different than everyone else. He just doesn't stop when others stop, rest when others rest, drink when others drink, or give up when others do. The difference between success and failure is just making the decision to make your own decision, not follow the crowd. Think about this next time you have a decision point. That is what makes success happen!

"If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward." - Martin Luther King, Jr.