How The Lebanese Negotiate

I was reading a book and I found some interesting Lebanon-related material in it. How relevant this seems as I watch the see-saw between Jumblat and Hezbollah. Here is the excerpt:

In doing global deals, sensitivity to issues of language, customs, social expectations, and religion can mean the difference between a successful long-term business relationship and a short-lived, unprofitable transaction.Consider the following example:
 
A British CEO once told me about his first negotiation in Lebanon. He started the negotiation well, but every time he made a concession, the other parties escalated rather than reduced their demands. After several rounds of this over a couple of months, he quit, telling his counterparts that he was thoroughly disgusted with their tactics and that he wanted nothing to do with them. A few days later, they called, saying that they now had “serious” proposals to put to him. He rejected the overture. A week later, they called again, making several concessions they had previously said were absolutely impossible. He reiterated that he had no interest in further dealings. At this point in his story, he looked at me ruefully. “The whole thing was really my own fault,” he said. “I later learned that walking away from the table is a very common way to show you are serious in that part of the world. If I had walked out two months sooner, they would have behaved better and I probably could have closed the deal.

Quite the game players, aren’t we?