The Chess Player's Guide to Negotiation
Many negotiators still use Sun Tzu's Art of War as an authoritative reference . Now, while Art of War may be a good battle textbook; it's a lousy guide for modern negotiations. Let's face it; any approach that relies on calling the other party 'the enemy' is going to have problems creating mutually beneficial agreements! Yet, the strategy and tactics of war games can have many lessons for negotiators. One war game that is very instructive is chess. Position and Intent Like negotiation, every move in a chess game involves taking a position. All your opponent sees is your moving your piece from one square to another. A novice chess player will just react to this with a counter-move. An experienced player, however, will try to ascertain the intent behind the move. What is their strategy? What is their long-term aim? While a beginner plans their next move, an experienced player is thinking at least three moves ahead. Likewise, an expert negotiator will always seek