Winners take it all

In Negotiation Theory, one of the tools for success is reimagining the scope of negotiation. In a typical bilateral negotiation, when, say, one party is buying, another is selling, the normal thinking of each party would revolve around finding out how badly the other party wants to do the trade, figuring out the price point at which they would possibly walk away from the deal, and then squeezing the best deal from the other side. However, most smart negotiators will treat that thing or service as amorphous and redefine the scope of the trade to accommodate a winning outcome for both sides of the transaction.

This ability to think outside the box, add lateral dimensions to the discussion, and embrace the concept of a win-win solution is part of a larger vision of our existence beyond the limitations of our possessive, competitive spirit.

In chapter 15 of the Bhagwad Gita, Krishn describes our existence as an inverted banyan tree, whose roots are Paramatma, the supreme soul, trunk is the creator Brahma, branches are living beings, and leaves are our knowledge. It is an integrated whole, in which there is no concept of me or mine, and there is no scenario in which one branch can gain at the cost of another, since they are extensions of the same tree. Keeping this integrated existence in mind, it is possible to imagine infinite ways in which parties on either side of a bargaining table can design the scope of a negotiation so that both walk away winners.