3/2/2022 Joe Biden - a Reflective LookJoe Biden put on a very poor performance when he need to seem tough and uncompromising in the face of Russian aggression. Biden is known as a deal maker, and had an amazing breakthrough with the Russians in his early senate career (of which more below) Barack Obama said of him in his memoir “In a town filled with people who like to hear themselves talk, he had no peer“ and was “a man without inhibition, happy to share whatever popped into his head”
Mitch McConnell, long time adversary, said of Biden’s ability to talk “if you ask [Biden] what time it is, he’ll tell you how to make a watch”. But McConnell soon realised that Biden didn’t only talk; he also listened - the true strength of a negotiator and someone looking to do a deal. McConnell says that Biden would avoid beginning by explaining why everyone else was wrong and instead he would accept and respect negotiating counterparts deeply held convictions. And he had first hand experience. When Biden was vice president, he and McConnell struck a deal in 2010 on tax that had evaded a solution for months. An another example is given by William Ury and it shows the true extent of Biden’s negotiating genius. In one of Ury’s seminal books “Getting Past No: Negotiating with Difficult People” Ury describes an example in 1979 featuring what Ury refers to as a “young US senator Joseph R. Biden Jr.” negotiating with his Russian counterpart in the SALT2 talks, aimed at limiting the manufacture of strategic nuclear weapons. Biden faced two challenges. The first was that he needed changes made to the potential deal in order to get the necessary two thirds Senate support, the second was that the junior senator was up against an extremely determined and very experienced Russian counterpart, Andrei Gromyko. What Biden did to break that intractable deadlock is a masterclass in negotiation. After listening for more than an hour to the Russian diplomat, Biden explained the issues which he faced. Rather than trying to put his point across, or trying to argue with the Russian, it’s reported that Biden said to his counterpart “You have more experience in arms control matters than anyone else alive. How would you advise me to respond to my colleagues concerns?” Gromyko could not refuse the temptation to offer advice to the inexperienced young American. One by one they went through the arguments that Biden would face and Gromyko tried to deal with them. Ultimately Gromyko appreciated the task facing Biden and went on to consent to the requested amendment. What Biden did was not only flatter and appeal to the Russian, Biden reframed the conversation into a constructive discussion on how to meet the Senator’s concerns. It changed from each pushing their own positions into how to help to satisfy each side’s interests. The current, older Joe Biden may do well to consider his past victories and consider how he can take control of the current situation in Ukraine Comments are closed.
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AuthorRichard Marshall is an Accredited Civil and Commercial Mediator with over 25 years experience as a Litigation Solicitor, as well as being a qualified Solicitor-Advocate. He is the founder of Striving to Settle, through which he works as a mediator and provides negotiation training. www.strivingtosettle.co.uk Archives
August 2022
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