
36 SEVEN SECRETS FOR NEGOTIATING WITH GOVERNMENT
department or state-owned corporation whose representatives are
sitting on the other side of the table. In the negotiation, the power
to convince government officials will almost always depend on
your ability to find a rule to justify your position.
Negotiating about Rules
Rules not only govern the negotiation with a government but are
often the very subject of that negotiation. The substance of the
discussion may also be about rules: about whether one rule or an-
other applies to a transaction or whether a particular regulation
can be interpreted to allow or prevent the governmental action
that you need. ...