Ogburn's Business Solutions | Business Consultant

THINK WIN–WIN OR NO DEAL

Win-Win is never offering a deal you are not willing to accept yourself. We have been taught this all of our lives. By thinking win-win, we look for alternatives that allow everyone to win.

What we want to avoid is a win-lose situation. A good example of win-lose is when we buy a car. Everybody hates the though of buying a car because they know it is a win-lose situation. The car dealer wins, we the customer lose.

We also want to avoid the lose-win situation as well. This might be where you are into martyrdom or being dominated. Customers will come into our lives on occasion and no matter what we do, we cannot please them. It would be like someone getting a free shake with his lunch order and complaining that he had to buy the burger.

We definitely want to avoid lose-lose situations. It is a compromise and both parties lose. If you have ever had dealings with lawyers, you know what this means. Very often they have to offer compromises and in reality nobody wins.

Which brings us to what we commonly call Win-Win or No Deal. Win-Win is where both parties continue to talk until they have reached a solution that is better than originally proposed by either party.

If the parties are unable to reach a mutually satisfactory conclusion, they agree to disagree and have no deal. This is not a bad thing. It is what must be done when the parties do not reach a synergistic solution.

The win-win or no deal approach to working with customers and colleagues is the most effective. It is also the most challenging in that it requires us to draw on our self-awareness and imagination.

Be proactive.
Actively balance your needs and feelings with what they are asking.
Maintain clear communication.
Be open-minded and creative.
Be prepared to disagree, agreeably (No Deal).

Remember, it takes will power and leadership to produce a win-win resolution proactively.

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