"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."