"Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right / Here I am, stuck in the middle with you" – song lyrics, or an accurate description of American politics?

There's a lot to analyze in the world of US politics, business, and culture right now. In order to understand where we're going, it's critical to understand where we've been – so, this week on S4N, Gene breaks down the original negotiation that created America to answer the question: should we still have faith in our country?

Of course, he also answers some important questions about negotiation along the way that you can use in everyday business deals: should you lay all your cards on the table at once? Do impressions matter? How can you use FOMO to your advantage?

And maybe most importantly: what do you do when you don't know what's going to happen?

Remember: negotiation is life.

Mentioned in this episode:

• "Great Negotiations: Agreements that Changed the Modern World" by Fredrik Stanton
• John Adams, the HBO show directed by Tom Hooper