The more prepared, the easier it is to win

Kuatra:

Before you consider investing in combat, you should make some preparations. For the same reason, you should also prepare before you start negotiating. So, does the importance of preparatory work vary with the size of the stakes?

Fei Lizong:

The unfortunate thing is here, the greater the stakes, the more we are considered responsible, and the less prepared we are. A major negotiation is always accompanied by a lot of daily work, and these daily tasks must be handled well, so you should entrust them as much as possible.

This is often the case in the business world where the chief negotiator holds an important position in the business he represents: he is usually the president or the financial supervisor. This is actually bad for him, because it means that he can't concentrate on what he is doing. He is sure that he is full of other things: some executives are waiting to be met, some investment projects are waiting to be made, some factories are to be inspected, some reports are to be forwarded, some issues are to be investigated, and so on. The ideal situation should be: the negotiators' time and energy are all concentrated on the negotiations they face. Of course, he may be a person with enough weight in the company he works for, and he can make a decision on the decision when necessary.

Kuatra:

Anatoly, how did you prepare for physical strength before a game? Do you pay attention to your sleep and diet?

Karpov:

Physical preparation is extremely important for a chess player, and I think it is the same in business or politics. I am often particularly surprised to find that an entrepreneur or a diplomat does not pay much attention to this physical preparation. But no matter which position they are in, they mean that they will concentrate on a long period of time and a difficult and sometimes hostile situation; only one person with complete health faces this pressure. And with highly concentrated needs, you can stand it.

I remember that in the Western chess world, it was Povinick's first emphasis on the importance of this pre-match physical preparation. Povinic has paid great attention to his body throughout his life. He has always been very satisfied with his well-maintained body. Moreover, this maintenance has achieved amazing results: he also won the title of world champion at the age of 46.

In the 1950s, the physical preparations for caring for themselves were still relatively new. Fortunately, the medical community quickly supported the sport of chess. Researchers started their tests from the Tel Aviv Games and extended the test to the Tokyo Games. As a result, they were very surprised to find that the Soviet players were in good physical condition, so they were very competitive. Although these athletes are not good at other sports, almost everyone insists on jogging and various forms of athletics, as well as gymnastics, skiing and swimming. I am the same myself. I insist on skiing, swimming and doing gymnastics, and sometimes playing tennis.

Kuatra:

In other words, the researchers finally understand that the better the physical condition of an athlete, the more he can concentrate on the game and achieve the final victory. So, is there a similar situation in corporate organizations?

Fei Lizong:

No, health care professionals in the enterprise don't spend time on such research; gyms located in corporate locations are not as widely used as currency, except in California. But physical exercise definitely has some inevitable relationship between physical condition and achievement, especially when faced with a difficult negotiation. Since all forms of mental battle are also supported by physical strength, we can only recommend that the negotiating team have less alcohol, sleep more, reduce the amount of coffee consumed, or do some sports when possible.

Don't forget that “fatigue your opponent” is an effective tactic that is always worthy of attention. There have been many examples of this failure due to exhaustion. From this point of view, the consequences of often facing the jet lag may be catastrophic. Each participant will find an intercontinental negotiation that will be completely different because it is always in the same place. For example, when a European negotiating team had to go to the United States to participate in a day of negotiations every week, they would make more concessions to their opponents than taking turns to negotiate between Europe and the United States. However, American bankers seem to inadvertently designate all meetings to be held in New York... so if you are planning to buy something from the United States and your headquarters is in Europe, then you should try to travel less than the Atlantic as little as possible. It’s best to ask the other person to ask them to work