The business world is highly competitive and every decision can make or break a negotiation. Many organizations lose value by blindly using conventional negotiation wisdom or compromising too easily in the face of resistance, only to pay long-term repercussions—with interest. To build agreements that last, having a strategic system in place to navigate high-stakes negotiations is vital.

Nicolas Clement—the Founder & General Manager of Nego Asia in 2017 and Global Head of Negotiation at Halifax Consulting, a leading global commercial performance consultancy with 20 years of existence—helps his clients navigate what he calls the fog of negotiation without the weight of unnecessary “shoulds.” With over 16 years of presence in Asia, he has dedicated his career to helping individuals and organizations build consistent negotiation success.

From individual coaching to build negotiation leaders to corporate training to build a shared negotiation culture to negotiation assistance that helps clients regain control of critical negotiations, Nicolas—who is also a TEDx Speaker, teaches Negotiation in prestigious Business Schools and is an Asia Negotiation Expert at APM, an exclusive global club of French CEOs—is on a mission to elevate the success of his clients through negotiation.

With a presence in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Bangkok and its partnership with Halifax Consulting, Nego Asia can deliver Negotiation expertise globally.

The Making of a Negotiation Expert

Nicolas first discovered his passion for negotiation at ESSEC Business School in the Psychomathematics Course taught by Professors Florence and Hervé Le Lous, the former holding a PhD in Clinical Psychology from La Sorbonne, the latter a PhD in Finance from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and owner of URGO Group.

After a couple of decades, Nicolas was fortunate to be coached for five years by the legendary Jim Camp—a negotiation coach to the FBI International Hostage Rescue Teams and author of Start With No. Under Camp’s guidance, he discovered a whole new vision of negotiation, which he embraced wholeheartedly.

Following this, he enrolled in a Professional Program in Strategic Decision & Risk Management from Stanford Center of Professional Development, in which he earned a score of 97% in Collaborative Decision Making & Negotiation.

In the mid-2010s, Nicolas met the team at Halifax Consulting, France’s leading sales and negotiation consultancy, who sought a partner in China, where Nicolas has been living since 2007. Appreciative of the gentlemanly culture at Halifax Consulting, it was only natural for Nicolas to take the leap.

Since then, Nicolas has coached a variety of negotiations globally: A/R recovery, $1b acquisition, labor union negotiations, shareholder agreements, distribution contracts—you name it—as well as trained over 150 customer employees in 17 countries and 7 languages for one single client in sales, negotiation and strategic leadership thanks to the global reach and variety of local certified trainers at Halifax Consulting.

He has also served as a visiting Negotiation Professor at such prestigious institutions as China Europe International Business School ranked #2 globally by the Financial Times.

A member of the Million Dollar Consulting Hall of Fame, he has delivered a TEDx Talk “Negotiation: through the looking glass” in Shanghai, in which he gives his unique negotiation philosophy pointers.

Bridging Cultures with Universal Strategies

Having himself negotiated in bond markets for a leading French bank, handled multimillion-dollar transactions in corporate real estate across France, Europe and Asia as well as negotiated extensively in construction, project management and facility management, including as Commercial Lead of a 26,000-employee company in China, Nicolas has acquired a vision that “All negotiations are multicultural.” However, he says, “negotiation principles… are the same everywhere, they are just expressed differently. Who does not want to be respected and effective?” His clients’ successes across countries and industries seem to prove him right.

Clarity and Confidence in Negotiations

Nicolas sees that C-suite executives demand immediate results. He emphasizes to them, “Don’t let your obsession with results ruin your focus on preparation; don’t let your need to please ruin your focus on execution.” His approach is direct and no- nonsense because, as he asserts, “My job is not to be liked; it is to be respected and effective. And so is theirs.”

Coaching highly successful C-level executives on high-stakes negotiations, including on a $1 billion corporate acquisition, Nicolas starts by asking them how they envision the upcoming negotiation. He then swiftly debunks any conventional wisdom they might be relying on, challenging most of what they propose to immediately see how they face resistance.

Confidence must come from clarity about the virtue of No, the folly of trying to control the uncontrollable, being able to make effective decisions while navigating the fog of complex negotiations and being aware of the dangers of compromising early and often to please the other party.

The Glocal Approach

Nicolas emphasizes that every negotiation is inherently multicultural, requiring a nuanced approach. In Asia, for example, mastering the art of saying ‘No’ without actually saying ‘No’ is crucial. Respect is shown differently in different cultures but, he warns, attempting to fake cultural mastery can lead to what he calls ‘cultural burnout’ which he helps avoid.

He provides his clients with precise instructions when negotiating in unfamiliar cultures, applying universal principles with culturally appropriate ‘gift wraps.’ This approach has proven successful across diverse scenarios, from a billion- dollar acquisition in China to labor union negotiations in Korea, both involving Fortune 500 companies.

For one of his best clients, Nicolas trains between 70 and 150 people annually across 17 countries and in 7 languages through certified Halifax Consulting Senior Consultants. These trainings maintain a consistent backbone while being ‘localized’ for each culture, following what Nicolas terms the ‘glocal approach: think global, train local.’

This strategy creates a shared corporate culture for his clients, fostering diversity and inclusion by embracing cultural differences rather than forcing artificial commonalities. Warren Buffett’s adage, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast,” resonates with Nicolas, underscoring the importance of respecting and including cultural diversity in successful global negotiations.

Integrating Proven Techniques with Innovative AI Solutions

Nicolas emphasizes that successful negotiation is both a science and an art. Science lies in mastering tools like nurturing, reversing, interrogative-led questioning, rephrasing, deep listening, and eliminating neediness, which he calls “the negotiation failure disease.”

These hard skills are essential, but the art emerges when the negotiation begins in earnest. “You must navigate the negotiation fog with perfectly mastered tools,” he states, but the true challenge is maintaining emotional control, no matter the obstacles.

Nicolas highlights the cutting-edge AI tools developed by Halifax Consulting, which are transforming how negotiations are prepared and executed, standing at the intersection of science and art.

Use of Metrics and Scientific Assessments

Nicolas recounts his experience coaching a female tech COO who, after having reached the unfortunately proverbial glass ceiling, acknowledged a 15 to 1 immediate financial ROI within just three weeks of his intervention. He emphasizes using specific metrics to showcase how trainees more than double their effectiveness and efficiency.

In his practice, Nicolas also utilizes scientific assessments developed by Halifax Consulting and their partners. These range from individual psychometric assessments based on the latest neuroscience findings to complex sales organization maturity assessments.

Once assessments are completed, Nicolas collaborates with clients to define strategic priorities, develop improvement metrics and align on what ‘good’ and ‘great’ look like. This shared vision sets the path to success, clearly identifying the starting point, the checkered flag and the route to get there first.

What Makes a Successful Negotiator?

Nicolas outlines the fundamental characteristics of successful negotiators, emphasizing that they must love negotiation and be unafraid of saying or hearing ‘No.’ They must avoid needing to be right, as winning debates often leads to losing the underlying negotiations.

Solution-oriented, creative and effective decision- makers, successful negotiators make no assumptions and focus on navigating their counterparts’ worlds more than their own. “Last but certainly not least,” Nicolas asserts, “they must have a strong backbone and impeccable manners.” These traits, according to Nicolas, are essential for thriving in any negotiation scenario.

Avoiding Threats and Achieving Results

Nicolas draws inspiration from a powerful story to illustrate his future goals at Nego Asia. In the tale, a hummingbird tirelessly carries water drops from a nearby lake to a burning rainforest. When a lion questions its efforts, the hummingbird simply replies, “I am doing my part.” Nicolas sees the world as similarly conceptually ‘on fire’ and is committed to playing his part by equipping responsible people with the most effective negotiation tools.

Nicolas aims to help clients eliminate short-term compromises, which he describes as using “the negotiation credit card—buy the deal now, pay the consequences later, with compound interest.” Instead, he aspires to guide individuals and organizations toward building lasting agreements rooted in a valid long-term negotiation mission and purpose.

Nicolas believes that by focusing on building sustainable value for their negotiation counterparts, responsible leaders can navigate complex negotiations and maximize their own stakeholders’ value without sacrificing their principles. This vision shapes his dedication to transforming how negotiations are conducted, ensuring they contribute positively to the broader world.