‘Always go for the win-win situation.’
While I appreciate the heart behind this thought, let’s take a moment to add a different angle to it.
Stephen Covey’s “Win-Win” mindset, from The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, is about seeking solutions that benefit both sides in any deal or transaction.
The main point is that both parties in a deal will feel seen and valued, and that both parties gain something meaningful.
It’s a shift from a competitive, scarcity-driven view (where one wins at another’s expense) to an abundance-based approach.
The reason Covey says this is important is that it will help build trust and stronger relationships through collaboration and mutual respect.
“Win-win is not a personality technique. It’s a total paradigm of human interaction. It comes from a character of integrity, maturity, and the Abundance Mentality.” – Stephen Covey
I absolutely LOVED reading Covey’s leadership classic and I so appreciate his remarks about the ‘Abundance Mentality.’
If you haven’t read it yet, and you even remotely enjoy reading posts like these, you’re going to LOVE ‘the seven habits,’ so go find yourself your own copy wherever you can find it, and devour it as soon as you can!
So, back to the win-win…
I’m not here to cancel that completely. Just here to add to it.
A few weeks ago I had an inspiring conversation with my friend Mathew, founder of Peukenzee.
We ended up talking about the win-win concept and he added one more dimension to it.
“It’s not just win-win. It’s win-win-win. You win, I win, the world wins!” – Mathew Welson
Covey challenges the thinking that my win needs to be at the expense of the other person, or the other way around.
A win-win-win challenges us to think about the impact a deal will make, not just on the two parties that are directly involved, but a very important third party: this beautiful world we live in!
- Win #1 – How will I benefit from this?
- Win #2 – How will you benefit from this?
- Win #3 – How will the world benefit from this?
Abundance PLUS, I guess.
As always, thanks for reading and I’d love to hear from you too!
How do you apply this principle in your leadership, and specifically in any deals or sales you make?
Here’s to abundance and multiplication of impact,
–Reinier.