Idea Ripper // ArchiveCards: 1555 [Live] | Updated: 2026-10-14
Card #c1322IR // #c1322Synthesis

"But Todd had made a point of building relationships across the aisle, what he calls “a reservoir of trust and goodwill.”" "“We also discovered a mutual animus toward the Chinese Communist Party,” Todd says."

— In our words · Source: Courage Can Save Us (Rye Barcott)

[Use when]

You'll eventually need a deal with a rival and have no reason yet to talk to them.

[Why it matters]

Young and Chuck Schumer met on stationary bikes in the Senate gym while leading opposing campaign committees. Months of small talk surfaced a shared enemy. That became the CHIPS Act, a bill to bring semiconductor manufacturing back to the United States.

Filed under situations:When the other side has more leverageWhen you need a yes and they’re not there yet

More from Courage Can Save Us

#c1321"“Can you live with yourself if you pass on it?” he’ll ask. “Or will you always look back and say, ‘What if?’"You're weighing a long-shot venture and the analysis says no. #c1323"“Obviously I work for the president and he’s in the opposing party, but I never felt that made a difference. We always just talked about…You're negotiating with someone from a camp your side distrusts. #c1324"“It’s always easier to vote no,” says John Connell, Todd’s chief of staff for fifteen years. “But we had to compromise on stuff. He always…You support a compromise that has obvious flaws and opposing it would be easier.

Same situation, different book

#c1356Show them the engine, skip the pitchYou have a metric that proves your value better than any presentation.From Cancel Me If You Can #c1279The Smarties test for adultsYou're sure the other side must see what you see.From Trade Outside the Box #c1277Listen and then thinkYou're preparing what to say in a meeting where you haven't yet heard the other side.From The Oxford Handbook of Modern Diplomacy #c1269Constituents need to know whyYou're closing a deal at the top that the wider team will have to carry out.From The Oxford Handbook of Modern Diplomacy