Charles Maurice de Talleyrand: how to win when you are weak?

Napoleon had been defeated. France was a crushed nation. The victorious 4 nations of Europe: UK, Russia, Prussia, and Austria were planning to divide the French territory amongst themselves and dismantle it.

So why does France still exist today?

Because a diplomat stood in their way.

Charles Maurice de Talleyrand used his ingenuity to make sure France came out stronger even after it was defeated. His maneuvering during the Congress of Vienna is legendary. So much so that Henry Kissinger wrote his PhD thesis on Talleyrand.

How did Talleyrand achieve the impossible? How did he make sure that France would not be divided? He did a little reframing and changed the rules of the game.

Talleyrand argued that the war wasn’t against France. But rather against Napoleon.

France itself should be treated as a victim, not the culprit. If the big 4 divided and crushed France, then they were just like Napoleon. And they did not stand for peace in Europe! If they stood for peace in Europe, they needed to restore the Bourbons to the monarchy!

Talleyrand successfully played the 4 kings who feared looking like the “monster” they had just defeated!

The art of forcing others to cooperate.

There was an impasse at the Congress of Vienna. Because Russia wanted the whole of Poland. And Prussia wanted Saxony. Every nation was hungry for more land. But more than that, every nation was afraid the other countries would gain more land and tilt the balance of power.

At such a time, Talleyrand brokered a secret alliance with the UK and Austria. The 3 nations pledged to defend each other against Russia or Prussia’s aggression.

Talleyrand then strategically leaked the news about the secret alliance to Russia. If any big power tried to take a lot of Poland or France, the others would create a coalition against them.

And there would be war in Europe again!

Talleyrand created a new equilibrium.

This ploy worked. Despite being the aggressor in Europe for the past 20 years, France got to keep the borders it had back in 1792. It essentially lost nothing of its core territory.

What to do when you have a weak hand against stronger opponents?

1. Start with their downside. Their anxieties. Their fears.
2. Point towards a common enemy.
3. Make it more expensive for them to tell you a no than to tell you yes.

Talleyrand didn’t focus on what the 4 kings wanted. They all wanted more land. He focused on what they didn’t want. They were anxious about another war, another expensive 5 or 10 or 20 years that could bankrupt them and make their people rebel. They were afraid of looking like tyrants. They were afraid of looking like weaklings if another country got more land.

Talleyrand understood this. And he reframed that the common enemy itself is the aggression. He became the greatest diplomat the world has ever seen, precisely because he understood the fears and anxieties of the people he was dealing with better than anyone else!

Action Summary:

• Every one of us focuses on what the other person wants. We forget to focus on what they don’t want. Understand their fears and anxieties, what they don’t want. And you will sell more and pull more than your weight!