JAMES A. BAKER III ON NEGOTIATING

"If You Are

Not

Ready to Walk,

You're Not Going to

Get Anywhere"

JAMES A. BAKER III

in the Reagan-Bush Era

On March 29, 2012, former Secretary of State (and Treasury, and White House Chief of Staff, and much more -- see here and here and here), was formally honored at Harvard with the 2012 Great Negotiator Award. One of the maxims he laid down was reported to be: "You're never going to be a good negotiator unless you are willing to walk away from a negotiation when it isn't going to succeed." For "If you're not ready to walk, you're not going to get anywhere."

For more details, the Harvard Crimson account is here. The press release on the award is here.