“Kidnappers are just businessmen looking for a great deal”

That’s how Scott Walker, legendary hostage negotiator reframes his work (with a 93% success rate) in high stakes situations you can apply to yours.

Let’s call a spade a spade.
You can feel like a hostage in your job search.

Every interview can fire off an emotion.

Your future, in limbo.

Your finances handcuffed

Your head, unclear who to trust, including yourself.

We can all learn from Scott starting with:

The River of Emotion:

A metaphor to overcome emotional hijacking.

His tip, observe NOT absorb.

Stand on the riverbank without swimming in the current.

The 3-2-1 Formula:

Sort your challenges into three buckets:

What you can control, influence, or must ignore

Trust as the Golden Thread:

Understand how trust is the foundation of all successful negotiations.

The simple (but not easy) principle: do what you say you're going to do.

Embracing Conflict:

Learn why the "conflict call" is often necessary to establish boundaries and expectations. Having direct, candid, kind conversations enhances your value and presence.

The 30-Second Reset:

Practice pausing throughout your day to feel the feeling and drop the story.

This simple habit builds the emotional muscle needed for higher-stakes situations.

Negotiating our emotional regulation isn't limited to hostage situations or boardrooms - it's simply "a conversation with purpose" that we all engage in daily.

Like what you hear? Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a 5-star review!

Suggest a topic or ask a question for me to answer on the show!

Want FREE executive job search tips each week? Click here to join my newsletter.

Follow me on LinkedIn

Follow me on Instagram

Watch my podcast on YouTube

Follow Scott on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottaw/

Elevate Your Negotiation Game: https://winanynegotiation.com/pages/negotiation-training

To order a copy of Scott's book, 'Order Out of Chaos', click here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/order-out-of-chaos/scott-walker/9780349434988