Derek Gaunt: Fight Less, Win More Through Tactical Empathy

Derek Gaunt (0:00)

I start out in that assurder's voice. I give them both barrels as soon as they sit down.

I want it in 60 seconds or she's going to die. They're told before they get into the hot seat, you cannot negotiate drugs or alcohol, weapons or ammunition, exchange of hostages, or transportation. As soon as they sit down, the first thing I ask them for is a prohibited item. And I'm continually amazed at how many people will offer up a car. And the takeaway for the participants is under pressure, even if you're not a bad person, if you don't know how to say no, you're going to lie.

Mick Hunt (0:43)

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another exciting episode of Mick Unplugged. And this one is personal. We talk about a guy who changed my life, who changed my business, and more importantly, has made me a better man than I ever thought was possible. He's a 29-year law enforcement veteran, spending some time as the commander of hostage negotiation teams in the metro DC area.

He is a guy that is going to teach us how to fight less and win more. My coach, Mr. Derek Gaunt. Derek, how are you doing today, brother?

Derek Gaunt (1:13)

Doing well, man. Thank you for having me. I appreciate it.

Mick Hunt (1:15)

Thank you for being here.

So much that I owe you, and we're going to talk a lot about that, man, but the first time I met you, I felt connected because I felt like you were that best friend that's going to coach you hard, but love you harder. I felt that with your personality. You genuinely care, but you're always going to tell the truth, and I felt that connection. I just want to thank you for that because you don't realize the books that you've written, again, but getting to be coached by you, just how special that is to me. So I owe you thanks and gratitude.

Derek Gaunt (1:55)

I appreciate that. That's very kind of you to say. Yes, sir. It's fun.

To your point, I get a charge out of it because I can see the impact that it's having on people, not so much their professional life, although we just were talking about professionally, but the personal life. I get more gratitude out of hearing feedback from people and saying, yeah, I'm making more money, but I also just repaired a rift in my family that's been existing for the last 15 years. And for me, that's gold.

Mick Hunt (2:34)

You talk about it, man. I remember we were in Dallas in March, and you and Chris were on stage challenging people. If you've had deals that have stalled, like send a text message. Have you given up on blah, blah, blah?

And that day, I converted like $300,000 in like investment deals. And then you've helped me close a million dollar deal. And it's not about the money.

It's about the confidence. Like what you've instilled in me is confidence that in front of my team, if I'm at a negotiation sales deal, even in the household, you've just given me confidence that, hey, understand the rules of engagement, know the words that you're going to say, and most importantly, pay attention. Yep. Pay attention. So thank you, brother.

Derek Gaunt (3:23)

Yeah, man.

If we can get more people to close their mouths and just listen to what the other side is saying. And when I'm talking about listening, and I know for your sake, I'm preaching to the choir, but for your viewers and your listeners, I'm talking about being able to really understand the human nature response, which dictates that negative emotions and negative dynamics drive decision making and drive behavior. And so you get your head around that. That's where the confidence comes from, because you now put yourself at a distinct advantage over the majority of the population, because they will not take the time to really surface those negative emotions and dynamics. They will just let them lie dormant and hope that they don't rear their ugly head. And that's going to happen eventually.

Mick Hunt (4:12)

Yeah. So I've always wanted to ask you this question, but I was like, I'm going to wait for the podcast so that I can hear it directly. You know, I always start my show with asking my guests, what's their because?

That thing that's deeper than your why. Simon Sinek, a good friend of mine, taught us to start with why. But I think we're fueled by our because, that passion, that ongoing thing. You've accomplished so much in life.

At any time, you could stop being Derek, right? You could stop coaching. You could stop. I don't mean it physically. Don't leave me. But you don't have to do the things that you do. What's your because? Why do you continue to do the thing?