⌛ The right proposal at the wrong time is still the wrong proposal.
Sun Tzu considers that self-evident.
The others around the table, apparently, do not.
For what feels like an eternity, they have been debating strategy and power. Interests and relationships.
Sun Tzu listens.
Then he asks a question.
“Why do people spend so much time talking about decisions?” A brief pause. “And so little time talking about timing?”
The room falls silent.
Augustus nods.
Not for the first time that evening.
Benjamin Franklin starts keeping count.
Too many negotiators overestimate substance.
And underestimate timing.
The very same idea can fail.
Or succeed.
It all depends on when it is introduced.
Before a crisis.
During a crisis.
After a crisis.
Three moments.
Three entirely different negotiations.
“The right moment creates opportunities,” Sun Tzu says. “Even the strongest arguments cannot do that on their own.”
Confucius adds, “Patience is often mistaken for inaction. In reality, it is usually preparation.”
For the first time, the two of them are almost entirely in agreement.
As a precaution, Franklin orders another bottle of wine.
Moments like these deserve to be recorded.
In complex negotiations, good timing often looks like luck.
In reality, it is usually the result of careful observation.
When does the pressure to decide increase?
When do interests shift?
When do power dynamics change?
When do new options emerge?
Those who recognise these shifts negotiate differently.
And often more successfully.
Sun Tzu looks around the table.
“Most people believe they have a timing problem.
In reality, they usually have an observation problem.”
Even Niccolò Machiavelli writes that one down.
👉 Which decision would be far easier to push through today than it would have been a year ago—and why haven’t you seized the moment yet?