(CNN) -- Jeff Weiss had spent 20 years teaching negotiation skills to top executives when he realized those techniques might be just as valuable to soldiers on the battlefield. 

So a decade ago, he approached the U.S. Military to teach officers negotiation tools and strategies they could use in a theater of war. The West Point Negotiation Project was founded, and before long, Weiss made another realization: the lessons could go the other way, too. 

"There's a ton to take from the military back to the corporations," says Weiss, a partner at Vantage Partners, a Boston-based negotiation training and consulting firm that works with Fortune 500 companies. "Business leaders have a lot to learn from military leaders who, in extreme situations, are able to take a deep breath, get perspective and negotiate through a set of strategies." 

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Perhaps counter-intuitively, the best military negotiators adopt a creative, problem-solving approach. A more macho, "Rambo style" of negotiation -- in which the negotiator digs in inflexibly to a position they believe to be right -- is "just not effective," Weiss says, and could lead to fatal errors. 

"When we're under pressure to act fast in a high-stakes situation, it often leads us to a set of traps," he adds. "We often act on perception and assumptions, we tend to use a strong position and dig in, we tend to use threats and we play a concessions game far too frequently." 

Below are five key points into which Weiss has distilled the essence of successful deal-making, which he says are equally applicable whether you're dealing with potentially hostile stakeholders on the battlefield, or a fellow boardroom warrior. 
What's the name of the article's subject?
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Jeff Weiss
Jeff Weiss had spent 20 years teaching negotiation skills to top executives when he realized those techniques might be just as valuable to soldiers on the battlefield. 
Teacher
Jeff Weiss had spent 20 years teaching negotiation skills to top executives
negotiation skills
Jeff Weiss had spent 20 years teaching negotiation skills
executives
eff Weiss had spent 20 years teaching negotiation skills to top executives
20 years
eff Weiss had spent 20 years teaching negotiation skills to top executives
military officers
So a decade ago, he approached the U.S. Military to teach officers negotiation tools and strategies they could use in a theater of war. The West Point Negotiation Project was founded
a decade ago
So a decade ago, he approached the U.S. Military
Yes
There's a ton to take from the military back to the corporations
a creative, problem-solving approach
the best military negotiators adopt a creative, problem-solving approach.
A more macho, "Rambo style" of negotiation
A more macho, "Rambo style" of negotiation -- in which the negotiator digs in inflexibly to a position they believe to be right -- is "just not effective
take a deep breath, get perspective and negotiate through a set of strategies in extreme situations
military leaders who, in extreme situations, are able to take a deep breath, get perspective and negotiate through a set of strategies." 
it often leads us to a set of traps
When we're under pressure to act fast in a high-stakes situation, it often leads us to a set of traps
use threats and play a concessions game
we tend to use threats and we play a concessions game far too frequently
Fortune 500 companies
Weiss, a partner at Vantage Partners, a Boston-based negotiation training and consulting firm that works with Fortune 500 companies
Vantage Partners
Weiss, a partner at Vantage Partners
Boston
Vantage Partners, a Boston-based negotiation training and consulting firm 
partner
Weiss, a partner at Vantage Partners
The West Point Negotiation Project
The West Point Negotiation Project was founded
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