Negotiation Insight
“Putin needs a firefighter uniform.”
From a negotiation perspective, this is a very interesting interview with Gen. David Petraeus (Ret.) of the U.S. Army and former director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
In the video, Gen. Petraeus talks about the importance of trying to “provide a way out” for Mr Putin. In our Schranner Concept®, we refer to this as offering our negotiation counterpart a “firefighter uniform”. Metaphorically speaking, offering a firefighter uniform to the counterpart in a negotiation is instrumental to ensure that both parties can save face. In high-stakes situations such as suicide attempts, firefighter uniforms are often handed over to the person attempting suicide by law enforcement agencies. Disguised as a firefighter, this offers the person a way out, thereby enabling to save face.
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