For a good portion of my life I looked at life through this program. If I am to win then someone else must lose. I used to get so frustrated at others who were ‘doing better’ (atleast from my perspective of them)than me. It seemed like everyone around me was succeeding at the things I was doing more than I was. I felt like everytime someone else succeeded I somehow would not succeed as much as I previoulsy could of. I was in total scarcity. I looked at everything in finite quantities. I used to think: If he got this much ________ ( fill in any thing or value) then I lost the opportunity to get the same as him, the amount of________is now less in the world because he got some of it.
I believe this thinking is common in our world today. I used to see it all the time when I was a car salesman. Some potential car buyers only thought it was a good deal for them if they knew the dealership wasn’t making any money. They always wanted to buy cars at the same price that the dealership bought them at because any more than that wasn’t a ‘good deal’. That perspective is win/lose. Ayn Rand taught many times that the rational man only thinks in terms of win/win. If you think win/lose you attract people around you who think win/lose. With this perspective your only objective is that you win.
I believe that every exchange should be win/win.
Going back to the car example: I think that the people I worked with did not appreciate the risks and hassle that the dealership took on before they were able to deliver a car for sale. How long would you be in business, or have a job if every customer of yours only bought when they knew you weren’t making any money? I would imagine not very long. What people fail to factor in with the dealership is that they are creating way more value than just a car. They are providing financing options, a place to come see the car, inspections, etc… many things that the consumer may or may not do on their own.
In order to understand win/win we must think beyond the product or service by itself and look for the value that the people involved in the transaction are creating.
How do you create value in every one of your exchanges?
