Ask this question to escape zero-sum thinking
How one short question can help you escape the fixed-pie trap and problem-solve creatively.
A man died, leaving 17 camels to his three children. The eldest was to receive half the camels, the middle child one-third, and the youngest one-ninth.
They couldn’t figure out how to divide 17 camels in accordance with their father’s last wishes. After arguing for several days, they consulted a wise old woman for help.
She offered to lend them her one camel. With 18 camels, the first child took 9, the second took 6, and the third took 2.
One camel remained, and they returned it to the woman.
This delightful story from Jay Rothman, author of the classic, Resolving Identity-Based Conflict in Nations, Organizations, and Communities, shows how fixed-pie thinking traps us in disagreement.
“Fixed-pie thinking” is the zero-sum mindset that one person’s gain must be the other person’s loss. Mediators use the phrase “expand the pie” to convey the idea that good problem-solving pushes us to think past the fixed-pie fallacy.
And there’s one question in particular that I’ve found helps expand the pie.