Expert Negotiation Tips When Your IT Network Is Held Hostage

Chris Voss is the CEO and Founder of The Black Swan Group, an organization that teaches strategies found in hostage negotiations and applies them to the business world. He is also the best-selling author of the book Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It.

Prior to 2008, Chris was the Lead Negotiator for the FBI International Kidnapping Response as well as the FBI’s hostage negotiation representative for the National Security Council’s Hostage Working Group. During his career, he also represented the U.S. government as an expert in kidnapping at two international conferences sponsored by the G8.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

• Chris Voss’ career evolution from FBI agent to negotiation specialist
• What is labeling, and how can the process be leveraged?
• Good questions and poor questions in negotiations
• Dealing with false deadlines and managing the timeline
• The three-step process of persuasion
• Utilizing the late-night FM DJ voice to great effect
• Chris’ best negotiation tip for privacy and security professionals

In this episode…

Negotiation is a specialized yet universally useful skill. Even mundane conversations are filled with requests, persuasion, and deliberation. The basics are learned intuitively, but for more serious circumstances, more is required.

Hostage situations are the most dire instance of negotiation. Experts are equipped to handle these scenarios with care and precision, pulling from thorough training and prior experience. In our digital world ransomware is also a hostage situation only your IT network is the hostage!! These advanced principles are incredibly useful for emergencies and day-to-day life alike. Now you can learn directly from a real-world ransomware example of how high-level negotiation works in practice.

In this episode of She Said Privacy/He Said Security, Justin and Jodi Daniels are joined by Chris Voss, the CEO and Founder of The Black Swan Group, to share the concepts of high-stakes negotiations. They walk step-by-step through Justin’s ransomware negotiation for a hostage IT network and how he applied Chris’ principles to great success. They also discuss how to handle timelines, good questions for negotiations, and the best negotiation tip for privacy and security professionals.

Resources Mentioned in this episode

• The Black Swan Group
• Chris Voss on LinkedIn
• Jodi Daniels on LinkedIn
• Justin Daniels on LinkedIn
• Red Clover Advisors’ website
• Red Clover Advisors on LinkedIn
• Red Clover Advisors on Facebook
• Data Reimagined: Building Trust One Byte at a Time by Jodi and Justin Daniels
• Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It by Chris Voss
• The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable by Nicholas Taleb
• The Edge Negotiation Newsletter

Negotiation Techniques

Labeling

In negotiation, labeling involves acknowledging the other party's feelings and concerns to foster cooperation. It’s essential to phrase your questions strategically to avoid putting them on the defensive.

Recognizing False Deadlines

When faced with urgency from the other side, it’s crucial to recognize false deadlines and manage expectations without displaying aggression. Asking legitimate questions can smoothly navigate these situations.

Inflection and Tone

A calming tone can significantly aid in negotiations. Using a downward inflection, similar to that of a late-night DJ, can have an involuntary calming effect on the other party.