Morning Edition interview (Aug. 6, 2015).
Here's another way to think of the budget standoff: a prison siege.
Christopher Voss is familiar with this scenario, having been a chief negotiator for the FBI. He says inmate rebellions offer lessons for sparring politicians.
"Behind each leader are groups of unruly inmates that are trying to decide who they're going to follow," Voss says.
"They make bold statements in the media," he says. "But they're constantly doing back-channel negotiations, looking for cooperative people on the other side."
Voss retired from the FBI after 24 years and now heads the consulting firm Black Swan Group. How would he handle the budget fight between Republican Governor Bruce Rauner and Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan?
"Ideally, someone makes a statement that tells the inarguable truth," he says. "In this case that would be, `Us not finding an agreement is not good for the people. The people of Illinois deserve a functioning government.'"
According to Voss, the first person who says this gains the advantage with the "secondary audience," which, in this case, is the voting public. "They're more interested in who sounds the most reasonable," he says, "and you can sound reasonable -- without giving concessions -- by telling the inarguable truth."
Voss says whoever wins the secondary audience wins the negotiation. But he cautions that a successful negotiation isn't about compromise:
"If I think I should wear black shoes with a suit, and you think I should wear brown shoes, a compromise is one black shoe and one brown shoe."
Instead, Voss recommends a high-value trade. "Ideally it's something that doesn't cost you that much but means a lot to the other side," he says. "And they in turn can give you something that doesn't cost them much but means a lot to you. That's smart negotiation."
This, Voss says, is how rivals can begin a long-term relationship. "You don't want people to say, `That guy beat me, so now I want to pay him back.'" Voss says politicians want to be known for getting their objectives while working across the aisle. "That's how you get re-elected because the people believe in you."
Voss teaches business negotiation in MBA programs at Georgetown University and University of Southern California. His forthcoming book, Killer Deals, will be released by Random House.
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