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Conference Negotiate in Time of Crisis for Diplomats by Dr.Habib Chamoun at the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna, Nov 25, 2009.

Viena
Viena

Negotiating in Times of Crisis for Diplomats
Dr. Habib Chamoun-Nicolás

Negotiate Like a Phoenician: Discover TradeablesTM is attracting world-wide attention, not only within the business community, but also in areas of diplomacy and cultural relations.
The book by colleagues Dr. Habib Chamoun-Nicholás and Dr. Randy Doyle Hazlett is now in print in English and Spanish, in special hardcover editions and trade paperback. The book is selling in over 20 countries, as the message of the book is universal.

In Negotiate Like a Phoenician: Discover TradeablesTM the authors extract time-proven business principals from the most successful mercantile culture in history – the Phoenicians.
While the Phoenicians are credited with the first alphabet, and many know that the Phoenicians were the principal contractors for the construction of Solomon’s Temple, they also built and operated a trading empire that serviced the known civilizations of the world for roughly 2000 years. We wanted to uncover the Phoenician secrets to success in negotiating cross culturally through waves of regional military conquest. This was the motivation for writing Negotiate Like a Phoenician.

We certainly found the obvious – the Phoenicians were resourceful people who leveraged technology to further their business interests. The Phoenicians constructed fleets of ships capable of long voyages and bountiful cargoes. They became Masters of the Seas –navigating by the sun by day and stars by night. The Phoenicians pushed the frontiers of exploration in hopes of connecting natural resources with awaiting markets.

In our course of study, we found one more detail which helped make the Phoenicians more valuable as business partners than as a subjugated people by stronger nations with sights on military domination. The Phoenicians knew their customers – their needs and their desires. The Phoenicians dealt fairly and gave liberally to their clients. We coined the term, TradeablesTM , to denote the practice of meeting the needs of others outside the scope of the present deal to capture the essence of this business strategy. Our research indicates that the Phoenician use of meeting needs outside the context of the business deal to stress the importance of long-term relationship over short-term profit wielded enormous leverage. This was certainly one powerful secret to Phoenician success spanning centuries of regional political unrest. We also find that this ancient practice has both economic and political applications in our global culture. The presentation will highlight this gift from history and its practical usefulness today in diplomacy.