I started my negotiation training in 2011 at The United States Military Academy at West Point, NY. This course, taught by none other than Aram Donigian, opened my eyes to the power of negotiation. Throughout my military career, there were several times I used my training to help achieve me achieve my desired outcome.
But, when I started exploring the internet, I couldn’t find a database of helpful negotiation content to help me improve upon my basic skills. So in an effort to help others who want to learn more about this incredible skill, I convinced Aram to build it with me.
I was an Army officer with 9-years of service and a deployment to Afghanistan. I thought I was a good negotiator. I had no reason to think otherwise. Then I took Professor Jeff Weiss’ Negotiations course at the Tuck School of Business. I was introduced to simple yet brilliant concepts for thinking more critically and approaching negotiation more systematically; ideas and methods developed by Jeff and his colleagues at Harvard’s Program on Negotiation and Vantage Partners. In partnership with Jeff, we launched the West Point Negotiation Project to have an outreach to the military community, seeking to improve the effectiveness of military leaders in the complex negotiations they face daily around the world in various contexts. And, with more deployments ahead of me, I had the opportunity to put these concepts into personal practice.
When Nolan approached me about launching this venture, I hesitated. I’m not a YouTube personality. I like connecting and collaborating with people in small groups or 1-on-1; tackling the difficult problems they’re facing. He convinced me we could still have that impact. So, I said “Let’s go.”
