There's a principle I've posted about before here, about why anarchists don't make demands of those in power and why others who want liberatory change shouldn't either. But let's apply this to a practical example that a lot of people in the sub run into.
Say you and all your friends are thinking about walking out and leaving a place. You're done; maybe ou're fed up with management, or with pay, or with the hours and working conditions, probably all of these. Leaving altogether is probably a smart move. But I may have another plan.
There may be another option, even one outside of the things I've said in my past post about collective direct action at work (I believe it's called “When unions fail” or something to that effect, worth a read if you'll pardon my plugging it). Suppose you gave your boss a one day's notice that you'd all be quitting tomorrow, with a bunch of fellow workers. But then you gave them a way out – make a deal for us before then, and we might stay if it's good enough. Otherwise, have a fun few weeks of lost profits.
What does this do? First, it leaves them with no idea what the minimum they need to do to keep you there is. That way, they have exactly one thing to calculate this from: How much would they lose if you all left? In theory, giving you anything less than that is in their best interest. If they have no minimum, all they're left to go off of is a maximum. You become the one on the upper end of the negotiation, at least to an extent. Second, it gives them a clear time limit, which is more likely to lead them to panic and give you more than they ordinarily would, and third, it doesn't leave them with a clear roadmap besides “Be nice to us, or see what happens”. People like certainty.
Suppose they don't give you what you want; fuck 'em, leave like you had planned to do. If they do give you what you want, though, you have a choice of whether to deny it and hope the next ones to come in can get more out of them as a result, or grudgingly accept and raise your standards even further.
Comments? Ways to improve the strategy? I'm open to critique here, but I'm of the opinion that it has potential to be an effective and empowering action.