Negotiation lessons from the First Crusade part 2: Know Thyself

Know Thyself and Thy "Enemy" Lessons from the Encounter between Emperor Alexios and Count Hugh

Hugh of Vermandois

The first leader to physically arrive in Constantinople was Hugh of Vermandois, who was the younger brother of the current King of France, but had one of the smaller armies during the entire First Crusade. Sensing an opportunity to capture a “big fish” who was the younger brother of the King of France and therefore an influential leader in the entire movement, Alexios sent imperial agents to escort him personally to Constantinople.

Count Hugh’s route in Magenta (courtesy of wikimedia)

Count Hugh was shipwrecked off the coast of Epiros (modern day Albania) after he sailed from Italy and after facing this hardship, he welcomed the sight of an approaching imperial envoy. He leapt at their invitation to escort him and his personal entourage to Constantinople while his army waited outside. 

While in Constantinople, Alexios dazzled Count Hugh with the typical grandeur of Constantinople while keeping him under close watch by Imperial Agents. Hugh was effectively under a loose house arrest without even noticing that his freedom was taken away from him with all the feasts, sightseeing (The Hagia Sophia was just as much a pilgrimage site as Jerusalem or the Vatican was), and other forms of entertainment that was lavished on the King’s brother. One scholar ever described that “Hugh was so impressed and comfortable that he did not even realize that he was under de-facto house arrest.”

It was after this experience of extreme of shock and hospitality that Hugh was then called in to personally negotiate with the Emperor. The result was a staggering success for Alexios.

Hugh agreed to swear the standard oath Latin mercenaries employed by the empire swore, not to cause any damage to the empire, and to cede any territory he captured to Imperial agents in return for friendship, treasure, support from the Imperial Army, and supplies for the crusade.

This was exactly what Emperor Alexios wanted to accomplish to begin with, and he was extremely lucky to find someone like Hugh, who is not only of a very high social rank, but also someone who was “easy” to negotiate with. 

Hugh then stayed in Constantinople as his guest and even helped Alexios in his other negotiations with the other Crusade leaders.

Analysis

If there is one aspect that we can learn from this episode (while there are many) from this encounter, is the famous Sunzi adage of “Know they enemy, and know thyself.” Alexios knew himself and the resources being Clothed in the Purple entails, including all the resources that Empire entails whether it be the treasure, spiritual leverage, being on his own turf etc. all his own strengths.

If there is one takeaway from this encounter it is to never forget who you are and what your strengths are.  Yes, sometimes we are focusing on our weakness and if we are in a disadvantaged position.  The mistake though is if we are preoccupied with our weaknesses then we can’t use our strengths to our advantages. 

In the case Above, if Emperor Alexios focused on the precarious position he is in (as explained in Part 1) and “played defense” he simply would have been at a disadvantage.  If Count Hugh focused on his strengths (being the first to arrive, being the younger brother of the King of France, having a sizable army and treasury etc.) he would have probably been able to get a better deal from the Emperor for himself.

To negotiate effectively, it is important to understand the other person’s position as well as your own position. Emperor Alexios had and used the advantage that his position entails by receiving information about all of the leaders from the beginning as a part of a pattern of constantly sending spies on intelligence gathering missions constantly scouring different parts of the world for the latest news and intelligence. As one of the most powerful monarchs in the world, Alexios needed to have knowledge about everything happening around the world at all times. He probably knew about Count Hugh's personality and status very well in advance of personally meeting him.

Emperor Alexios knew that Count Hugh was the younger brother of the King of France, and without a doubt lived in the shadow of his more illustrious older brother.  In the entire culture of Western European Feudalism, the position of King is a MUCH higher ranking than the position of a simple Count, and usually the “spares sons” of these families felt left out when they did not inherit the highest positions.  Alexios knows this because while he is the emperor, he himself was NOT the youngest son in his family and knows all about the family dynamic of being a younger son.    

While it is important to be mindful of your weaknesses, just be mindful of them but focus on your core strength. Another thing that we need to learn is when negotiating, it is ALWAYS better to use your “home territory” to your advantage. “Home territory” does not have to be Constantinople, the “city of the world’s desires” but you can take stock of where you are and how you can approach a negotiation.  Look through your strengths and see where it can lead you and how it can work out to your advantage. 

Alexios knew that Hugh was a stranger in a strange land, who does not speak the language, who never saw such a cosmopolitan city, and is far away from his native France, and was about to meet a high ranking Emperor; but despite all this, Alexios still made Hugh comfortable and relaxed. Hugh was dazzled with feasts, gifts, tours, and comfort. We need to remember that negotiations do not have to be tense affairs; rather we can learn from this example that the adage “killing them with kindness” is a validly equal tactic in negotiations.  Not all negotiations have to be difficult.

From the mind of Count Hugh, he was simply glad to go on a journey and see everything.  Travel was a difficult affair during the 12th century and even someone of noble birth like him did not travel much.  He was simply content to see the sights and go on what he viewed to be a noble mission for not only the remission of his sins but to also a pilgrimage.  He was simply awed by the exotic locales and customs that were different from his native France.  At this time, Paris was a backwater compared to the megalopolis that is Constantinople, the “city of the world’s desire.” 

A modern equivalent:

To tie in a more contemporary equivalent, everyone who has ever done business in China (or anywhere else in Asia really) should have seen this before.  The Western approach to negotiation is much different from eastern approaches and this is no exception.

Eastern Negotiation formula:

When the foreign party arrives in China, they are treated with great respect and hospitality. This includes a grand banquet in their honor, along with other celebrations such as performances, various entertainments, and drinking. Although many Westerners might consider these festivities to be a pointless waste of time, the actual negotiation takes place after the entertainment.  In the Chinese mind, all the pleasantries are a part of the negotiation process. 

The most crucial time to finalize a deal is after the pleasantries when both sides go through this “ritual” of sorts. 

The negotiation style in the Chinese culture shows some similarities to the approach taken by Emperor Alexios when negotiating with Count Hugh.  Which is to be expected since the Eastern Roman Empire had a longer, imperial history while the Kingdom of France was considered a new kingdom of the time that is still trying to define itself. 

To be continued…

As we will see in the next part, the method of negotiation in Western Europe is MUCH different than in the east as the next two leaders, Godfrey of Bouillon and Bohemond Di Taranto  prove to be MUCH more straightforward, aggressive, and got a different outcome than Count Hugh.