Chinese strategies applied to negotiation
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| THE 36 CHINESE STRATEGIES
APPLIED TO NEGOTIATION from
Weather Forecasting: A Perspective on Cross-Cultural Negotiation and Dispute Resolution, 8 Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal 403 (2008). The Thirty-six Chinese Strategies or Stratagems are a collection of tactics that can be applied to very different situations. In China, the tactics are somewhat like proverbs or folklore. They have been described as “gems that speak to the cores of Chinese society.”1 Chinese children learn them2 just like Americans learn nursery rhymes. They are taught in school, found in literature, popular folk opera, and sometimes even in television programs.3 It is said that these strategies have become part of the “collective unconscious” of most Chinese people.4 The strategies are derived from military tactics applied during the Warring States Period (403-221 B.C.) or during the Three Kingdom Period (220-265 B.C.).5 Just about anyone who has “grown up Chinese” (meaning that they have grown up in a Chinese home that respects and teaches Chinese traditions) know these Thirty-six Strategies. The author (or authors) of the strategies are unknown. Although somewhat known in the Western world for many years,6 the Thirty-six Strategies have taken on greater significance as many foreigners have tried to learn more about the Chinese and to do more business with the Chinese. The Thirty-six Strategies have become a part of a number of various ancient military approaches that have been modified and applied to the world of business.7 Although web searches for “36 strategies” will find many web sites about the strategies and numerous links for commercial courses on applying the Thirty-six Strategies to negotiating with the Chinese, there appear to be only a few authors who have written books that focus on the Thirty-six Strategies and negotiations.8… Although the Thirty-Six Strategies are supposedly derived from military strategy, they also seem to reflect the Chinese approach to business, especially business with foreigners. A common Chinese expression is “The marketplace is like a battlefield,” or “The marketplace is a battlefield.”9 For the Chinese, business is like war.10 Perhaps the most important aspect of the Thirty-Six Strategies for non-Chinese to understand is that most of the strategies are based upon deception and deceit. Asia scholar Rosalie Tung describes deception as a normal part of Asian business practices and says that one of twelve principles guiding the East Asian approach to business is “Engaging in deception to gain a strategic advantage.”11 “There can never be too much deception in war,” is another old Chinese saying. And since the marketplace is a battlefield,12 these ideas should leave no doubt about the prominence of deception in Chinese negotiation and business tactics.13… The chart below lists various versions of the Thirty-six Strategies and accompanies each with a contemporary maxim that makes the original strategy a little more clear to present-day negotiators. The contemporary maxims presented below come either from interpretations by my former students, from various web sites, or are my own interpretation. The source of the phrase used for the original strategy is given by the two-letter code that follows the strategy in parentheses. CNC is Chin-Ning Chu; LB is Laurence Brahm; TF is Tony Fang; and RM is Robert March. Unless otherwise indicated, the description of the Original Strategy is by Laurence Brahm.
1 . March & Wu, supra note 177, at 145. 2 . See Chu, supra note 177, at 156. 3 . Brahm, supra note 177, at xii. 4 . Id. 5 . Brahm, supra note 177, at xii. 6 . The Secret Art of War: Thirty-six Strategies was first published in the 1940s. See March & Wu, supra note 177, at 146. 7 . See generally, Wess Roberts, Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun (1987); Mark McNeilly, Sun Tzu and the Art of Business (1996); Sun Tzu, The Art of War (1910); Miyamoto Musashi, The Book Of Five Rings (1982); I Ching. 8 . Chu, The Chinese Mind Game, supra note 177 (describing thirty-two of the thirty-six strategies); Chu, The Asian Mind Game, supra note 177 (describing all thirty-six strategies); Brahm, Negotiating in China: 36 Strategies, supra note 177, at xii; Laurence J. Brahm, When Yes means No! (Or Yes Or Maybe) How to Negotiate a Deal in China (2003); Fang, supra note 177. 9 . See, Chu, The Asian Mind Game, supra note 177, at 10. A Google search for either of those phrases locates many cites. 10 . Americans, on the other hand, more often see business, not as war, but as a sport and use sports metaphors: “We are still in the game,” “tackle the problem,” “end run,” “punt,” “game plan,” “huddle,” “cover all bases,” “strike out,” “never get to first base,” “in left field,” “in the ballpark,” “a ballpark figure,” “that’s a home run,” “slam dunk,” “full court press,” etc. See, Richard Saccone, Negotiating With North Korea (2003); Richard Saccone, Negotiating Your Way through Korea 148 (2001). 11 . See Rosalie L. Tung, Managing in Asia: Cross-Cultural Dimensions, in Managing Across Cultures: Issues and Perspectives 139 (Pat Joynt and Malcom Warner eds., 2002). 12 . “Chinese stratagems can be adopted even by decent people as a defensive weapon to keep evils at bay.” See Fang, supra note 177, at 176. 13 . China is well known for economic crime and counterfeit products such as baby formula, instant coffee, and instant soup. March & Wu, supra note 177, at 145. Directory: ~barkai ~barkai -> Confidential Information ~barkai -> The art of negotiation professor John Barkai ~barkai -> Topics: Appellate Review Download 57.12 Kb. Share with your friends:
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