You can't enlarge the pie

by Max H Bazerman

"When they learn how to negotiate and solve problems, students in management schools are taught two things. First, they are to look for and recognize any cognitive biases that may be affecting their own decisions about possible solutions. Second, in any disagreement, they are to seek out "wise tradeoffs": resolutions that minimize the costs and maximize the gains for all parties. Current and future executives are trained to craft agreements that create value by enlarging the pie of resources available, and to avoid the pitfalls that reduce organizational effectiveness.". "But if pragmatic business leaders have adopted such non-adversarial techniques, why has government grown increasingly combative? Why do our government leaders continually make decisions and craft policies that everyone knows are imprudent? It's not because they're ignorant or corrupt, but because our leaders, like the rest of us, are trapped in careless and unproductive habits of thinking. With case studies and clear,