Never Split the Difference - Chris Voss - Review
Chris Voss had spent 24 years in the FBI with a predominant role of negotiating life threatening hostage situations. Contrary to negotiation involving a business deal or even a low stake rental agreement, a ransom demand in return for release of hostages is a different ball game altogether. However, Chris having negotiated countless hostage situations, picks up the nuances learnt during those tense encounters and draws a framework that can be applied in non hostile environments as well.
In the 1980’s, business schools even with the likes of Harvard proposed the theory that humans are rational actors and try to gain maximum value for themselves during a negotiation. However, research during subsequent decades proved to be contrary for the following reasons
(i) Framing Effect - Depending on how a proposal is framed, the response evoked from the recipient can be different(ii) Loss Aversion - An inclination towards unwarranted risk for the sake of avoiding a loss
There can be many more reasons other than the three valid ones stated above but the crux of the issue is the presence or rather dominance of the emotional side of the parties involved in a negotiation that can play a critical role in drawing out a favourable deal.
Haiti, Caribbean country in the east of Cuba is known for thousands of kidnapping cases that occur within a year. Being outside the purview of USA, the FBI doesn’t have too much of muscle power to flex in such an environment. In one of the occasions, the kidnappers take custody of an US citizen demanding 150,000 USD in return for safe return of the hostage. Chris went into the negotiation prepared and by observing the pattern of previous kidnapping episodes, he understood that the offensive act was usually committed on Monday and released by Friday once the bounty was collected. On a deeper analysis, Chris understood that the motive of kidnap was to extract money for their regular weekend party.
Armed with critical information, Chris refrained from making any negotiation until thursday which forced the kidnappers onto a tight deadline. A series of open ended questions were thrust upon the kidnappers which opened the gates for a downward inflection point in the ransom amount. Eventually, the victim was released for a paltry sum of 4,000 dollars before the weekend. Given the life threatening situation, Chris pulled off an escape with miniscule loss. The key is to understand what the counterpart truly desires which can open up unknown possibilities.
With the above case as an example, Chris refrains from going into a negotiation with a fixed framework. Hence disapproves of the well known BATNA (Best Alternative to a negotiated agreement) strategy. Though BATNA is rational, the persona on the other side could have a high degree of emotional inclination, thereby limiting the possibilities during a negotiation process.
Overall the author advocates preparation, awareness of available options, placing open ended questions during conversation to unsettle the aggressor, gathering critical information, unlocking blind spots, understanding counterpart’s persona, unearth his desire and finally an ability to negotiate on a dispassionate note.
When an FBI agent attains success, under stressful, life threatening and even foreign conditions without the use of force then his techniques should be worth applying in non-hostile conditions as well.
Good read but I was genuinely surprised by the overwhelming success that the book has garnered. Frankly, I wouldn't rank it so high.
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