More than 200 people gathered at Upgrade Estate in Ghent, invited by Prof. Dr. Katia Tieleman and Laurence Dewaele, to celebrate the launch of their book Negotiation Intelligence, Onderhandelen Omdenken. Leaders, entrepreneurs, facilitators, and bridge builders, all drawn together by one shared question: What if negotiation could become a driver of real change?
The conversation that set the tone
The evening was hosted by Manu Van Acker and built around a panel conversation that was anything but predictable. Three voices, three perspectives, one honest and generative dialogue.
Annelies Verlinden, Minister of Justice and the North Sea. Anouk Lagae, founder of Muchin and former CEO of Accent Jobs. Jochanan Eynikel, Belgian business philosopher and researcher at ETION. Together, they explored what it means to negotiate in the real world: under pressure, across difference, with something at stake.
The conversation was sharp. And warm. And necessary.
A small exercise that said everything
Before the panel took the stage, something small happened. Something that said everything.
Katia and Laurence asked everyone to pair up. Thumb wrestle for one minute. Get as many wins as possible.
The room did what rooms always do. People braced themselves. Pushed back. Competed. Because when someone says “win,” we assume it means the other person has to lose.
After a minute, the results came in.
“Ten.” “Fifteen.” Then, from one corner of the room: “130.”
Silence.
“How?”
“We took turns. No resistance. Just rhythm.”
The insight that changes everything
That moment is what Negotiation Intelligence® is built on.
Not a technique. Not a tactic. A fundamentally different assumption about what negotiation is for. When you stop trying to win against someone, and start thinking about what you could build together, more becomes possible than you thought.
That principle applies at the highest levels of leadership. And at the kitchen table. And everywhere in between.
The evening in Ghent brought it to life, not through slides or theory, but through the people in the room and the quality of the conversations they were willing to have.
Where the evening ended, the book begins
We hope Negotiation Intelligence carries that forward. Into boardrooms and classrooms, leadership meetings and difficult decisions, wherever high-stakes conversations happen.
Which is everywhere. And every day.
The real question is not how many wins you can get. It is how many become possible when you stop assuming someone has to lose.
Want to feel what the evening was like? Watch the aftermovie.
