CHRIS VOSS ' S TIPS FOR NEGOTIATING
FROM ‘ SUPER COP ’
TO CEO
CHRIS VOSS GIVES THE FBI ’ S HOSTAGE NEGOTIATION TACTICS A HOME IN THE SALES WORLD
In 1974 , the refreshingly upbeat film “ The Super Cops ” played in front of audiences across the country for the very first time . Actors Ron Leibman and David Selby played the ragtag and unorthodox pair of police officers Dave Greenberg and Robert Hantz , both of whom recently graduated from the academy with dreams of making a dent in the drug racket that was pervading the streets of New York City . Viewers watched as they racked up bust after bust despite their refusal to follow protocol , and just as the NYC locals in the film referred to Greenberg and Hantz as real-life versions of Batman and Robin , audiences sitting at home couldn ’ t help but draw the same conclusion .
Near the same time that these renegade “ super cops ” hit the big screen , Chris Voss was in the thick of his teenage years , pondering the career path he would take after high school . As he watched Greenberg and Hantz use creativity , innovation , and sheer grit to bring down drug dealing fugitives , Chris couldn ’ t help but feel drawn to the same profession .
Like the officers he saw on screen , Chris graduated with big dreams , one of which was to become a police officer in a major city . He left his hometown in Iowa to join the force in Kansas City . But when he met a colleague who served as a Secret Service agent , he felt somewhat intrigued by the idea of a challenging but fulfilling career of traveling all over the world to offer protection to the leaders of our country . As fate would have it , the Secret Service wasn ’ t hiring , but the FBI was . Chris applied and was hired in October 1983 .
During his 24-year stint in the FBI , Chris made a name for himself . After being trained by the FBI , Scotland Yard , and Harvard Law School in the art of negotiation , he served as the lead international kidnapping negotiator , as well as the hostage negotiation representative for the National Security Council ’ s Hostage Working Group . Chris was also a member of the New York City Joint Terrorist Task Force for 14 years , and he was the case agent for TERRSTOP ( the investigation of “ Blind Sheikh ’ s ” involvement in the 1993 World Trade Center attack ) and the TWA Flight 800 catastrophe ( the third deadliest aviation accident in U . S . history ). Furthermore , he negotiated the surrender of the first hostage taken in the Chase Manhattan bank robbery . In the past , Chris also successfully convinced terrorists in the Philippines , guerrilla soldiers in the Colombian jungle , and professional kidnappers in Haiti to release their hostages .
Chris ’ extensive experience navigating these harrowing negotiations left him with vast knowledge of the human psyche , specifically regarding the influence that emotions have on decision-making processes . Up until 20 years ago , few researchers paid attention to ways in which feelings can influence the way people overcome conflicts , reach agreements , and create value when dealing with another person . According to the Harvard
Business Review , negotiation scholars of the past focused instead on strategy and tactics — how people could use leverage to perform the archaic choreography of offers and counteroffers .
Research involving the role emotional intelligence plays in negotiation , which corroborates Chris ’ s expertise , is relatively new . Chris explains , “ Recent studies exploring neurological feedback demonstrate that humans cannot make a decision without emotion . To that end , the ability to regulate how we experience our own emotions and understand the emotional intelligence of others gives us some control regarding how we express ourselves and approach negotiations .” Chris soon realized that the same pathos-based negotiation methodology that aided him in law enforcement could work just as effectively in the business world . This idea was the beginning of The Black Swan Group , a company Chris built to train individuals and other businesses in the art of successful negotiation . Transitioning from almost a quarter century in the FBI to a first-time business owner might seem unrealistic ( or perhaps like a midlife crisis in disguise ), but the two professions have several striking similarities . For example , the ability to adapt to rapidly changing events , facilitate a workable atmosphere , generate creative solutions , and reach agreements with other parties make up the daily routine of the average hostage negotiator — and they are also
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