Zero-Sum Thinking
John Hagel has an interesting take on a Forbes article by Rich Karlgaard about Zero-Sum thinking, particularly as it relates to the business community’s unfortunate embrace of this often-flawed world view.
I had never considered zero-sum thinking as a “sickness” as Mr. Karlgaard suggests, but I think that this analogy is spot-on.
My personal rule of thumb for noticing that your falling into the Zero-Sum trap? When your inner Daffy Duck chimes in during planning or negotiations with:
“It’s mine, you understand? Mine, all mine! Get back in there! Down, down, down! Go, go, go! Mine, mine, mine!”, then you may be missing an opportunity to, as economists are apt to say, grow the pie.