FBI Hostage Negotiator Tips

🧠 Insights You Won’t Forget

Today's insights are inspired by a recent episode of My First Million w/ Chris Voss (FBI Negotiator)

1. Listening is the first rule of negotiation

   Chris Voss emphasizes resisting the “hijack to correct” and “hijack to relate” impulses. Letting the other person fully speak without interruption makes them feel understood, which creates trust and disarms defensiveness.

2. Tactical empathy unlocks hidden information

   Demonstrating understanding, not just having it, removes you as a threat and encourages the other side to share sensitive information they would otherwise withhold. In business, this often reveals what truly matters beyond surface positions.

3. Replace compromise with blending

   Voss rejects compromise as mediocrity. Instead, he highlights “high-value trades” and blends, like steel being 98% iron and 2% carbon, as the model for strong, long-term deals.

4. Trust comes from predictability, not leverage

   Leverage is about threatening harm, which prevents open information sharing. True negotiation mastery comes from being predictable, which builds trust, smooths implementation, and ensures long-term collaboration.

5. Go for “no,” not “yes”

   Yes-seeking questions create friction. Framing decisions around “no” gives the other party safety and control, leading to smoother progress (“Would it be ridiculous to discuss X?”).

6. Last impressions define relationships

   People remember the peak moment and the ending, not the whole interaction. Oprah Winfrey mastered this by ensuring every guest felt respected and loved at the close, creating lasting goodwill and trust.

7. Prepare by labeling negatives upfront

   Instead of denying suspicions (“I don’t want you to think I’m greedy”), Voss advises calling them out directly (“I’ll probably seem greedy here”). This instantly positions you as transparent, reduces defensiveness, and accelerates trust.

8. Curiosity is a negotiation superpower

   Genuine curiosity draws out information, builds bonds, and makes others feel important. But it must be paired with time discipline, finite meetings with clear progress, to avoid wasting momentum.

Recall from last week

1. Liquidity tailwind for private markets

   By improving price discovery and shrinking bid-ask spreads, AI could act as a catalyst for secondary trading in private assets. Greater liquidity would unlock new quantitative and event-driven strategies.

2. Contrarian view: the art still matters

   While AI enhances the science of investing, the article argues that the best investors will remain contrarian thinkers who can build trust, spot nuance, and adapt creatively. Technology sharpens, but does not replace, human judgment.

💡 Eko Worth Remembering

⚡ Active Recall – Test Yourself 

🛤️ Off the Record

Happy Monday, writing from South Korea where I will be for the next week for Korea Blockchain Week (KBW). While this week will be packed with industry events, I hope to still make time to get a daily Eko over you 🙂 

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Answer:

Compromise forces both sides to lose something, creating resentment and weak relationships. Blending identifies high-value elements from each side to combine into a stronger, more sustainable agreement, like iron and carbon forming steel.

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