Victor Kiam Quotes

You can never in negotiations be totally predictable. The minute you’re predictable, they’re going to figure out how to take advantage.

A really good diplomat does not go in for victories, even when he wins them.

You do not get what you want. You get what you negotiate.

Negotiations are a euphemism for capitulation if the shadow of power is not cast across the bargaining table.

The capability of negotiating... is something that means you not only have to understand fully what you believe and what your national interests are but in order to be a really good negotiator, you have to try to figure out what the other person on the other side of the table has in mind.

Most negotiators are trying to get their way.

You can do a lot with diplomacy, but with diplomacy backed up by force you can get a lot more done

Diplomacy is the art of saying “Nice Doggie!” till you can find a rock.

All diplomacy is a continuation of war by other means.

Diplomacy, when matched by force, can achieve our objectives.

Diplomacy takes time.

And a diplomatist is one who lets the other fellow think he's getting his way, while all the time he's having his own. It never does any special harm to let people have their way with their mouths.

It would be the greatest mistake, certainly, to think that concessions mean peace. Nothing of the kind. Concessions are nothing but a new form of war.

Half of this business is politics. As real estate developers, it's our job to go in there and get beat up.

Fair play doesn't pertain in bargaining. What matters there is leverage.

Where force is necessary, there it must be applied boldly, decisively and completely. But one must know the limitations of force; one must know when to blend force with a maneuver, a blow with an agreement.

Sometimes you need conflict in order to come up with a solution. Through weakness, oftentimes, you can't make the right sort of settlement, so I'm aggressive, but I also get things done, and in the end, everybody likes me.

We're all negotiators.

Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.

Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a rock.

The most important thing in an argument, next to being right, is to leave an escape hatch for your opponent, so that he can gracefully swing over to your side without too much apparent loss of face.

Non-violence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man.

You can't go to a negotiating table pointing a gun, but you've got to keep it over your shoulder.

We all experience power struggles in our lives - at the workplace, with our friends, in our love lives. In a way, we're all politicians.

Wars are fought for political considerations. Military victory alone is never enough