TIL: Reagan and Gorbachev Agreed to Pause the Cold War in Case of an Alien Invasion

This was that negotiator. I forget his name, but he was amazing. He couldn't bribe the Russians, so he'd feed them. They'd fly in with nasty salami as some trick to collect the per diem food credit from the soviet union, and he knew he had leverage if they smelled like salami.

I guarantee that fucker came up with this. Because it's a fantastic foot in the door. Even if you don't give a flying shit about aliens, finding a common ground to start from is critical to getting to an agreement.

(I used to listen to that guy's book on tape to help me deal with interpersonal interactions when I worked in customer service.) ((Even if you can't make the customer happy, if you can leave them feeling "not screwed" you win.))

/r/todayilearned Thread Link - smithsonianmag.com