Diplomacy, Relationships & Tactics: the Art of War [Monday, Period 1]

[atreideslioness]

It was once again Monday, and Ghanima was seated on her desk, little red book in her hands.

"'There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare,'" she announced once everyone was seated. "So speaks Sun Tzu in the second P'ien. In it, he speaks of provisioning an army, and managing your resources."

"Today, we look at it from a non-combat viewpoint," Ghanima said, smiling at them. "If you're conducting a business merger, you should approach it the same as any other battle. Prolonged negotiations are something to avoid at all costs, since you usually end up losing something the longer you are engaged."

"Romantic relationships are the same way; as much fun as the chase can be, a prolonged pursuit of your target increases the chance of them slipping away," she teased, eyes flashing with amusement. "How can you apply the suggestions made in the second P'ien to these two situations? I'd like you to break into groups and discuss."

Comments

Re: Group #2: Personal Relationships

[justice_undone]

"Your Elders seem quite stubborn," Breq acknowledged. "I suppose that's one of the worst things, when you have to stand beside watching someone make really bad decisions."

She had had to do that frequently.

"My advice would be making subtle suggestions to gradually change their minds." Not that she could see Sidon doing anything remotely resembling that.

Re: Group #2: Personal Relationships

[in_sidon_we_trust]

And Sidon smirked, his usually toothy grin easily favoring one side. "Subtle, of course, being a completely relative term..." he said in a way that would prove Breq's thinking very correct.

Re: Group #2: Personal Relationships

[justice_undone]

"I suppose subtle means different things in different places," Breq said generously. "Or to different people."

She wasn't sure whether Sidon was typical for her people (her? his? It was hard to Breq to tell in this case) or if Sidon was Sidon.