Winning can equal settling for less

An accommodative approach can provide greater gains

My previous article “Moving Beyond A Zero-Sum Approach” dealt with how in most interactions, focusing on one’s own gains narrowly can lead to ignoring coordination, which then results in inferior gains. Coordinated solutions can be in the form of cooperation, collaboration, or accommodation. The reason is that while a situation may not have a win-lose (zero-sum) structure, if one party in seeking gains takes an approach as if it were win-lose, the areas for beneficial joint gains through collaboration or settlement are often ignored. This is likely to result in worse outcomes for all (a Nash Equilibrium