365QOD- Day640

“Consider the story of two men quarreling in a library. One wants the window open and the other wants it closed. They bicker back and forth about how much to leave it open: a crack, halfway, three quarters of the way. No solution satisfies them both.

Enter the librarian. She asks one why he wants the window open: "To get some fresh air." She asks the other why he wants it closed: "To avoid the draft." After thinking a minute, she opens wide a window in the next room, bringing in fresh air without a draft.

The librarian could not have invented the solution she did if she had focused only on the two men's stated positions of wanting the window open or closed. Instead she looked to their underlying interests of fresh air and no draft. This difference between positions and interests is crucial.” – Getting to Yes example

 

People love their position.  They feel that it is superior to their opponents.  The quote shows us how both people had a position that could be defended BUT did not allow the two people to come up with a solution.

 

They were more interested in getting their way instead of coming up with a better way.  The librarian’s solution was a better way.  It has aspects from both sides(AND mindset) and a twist that allowed them to be used at the same time.  Brilliant!

 

Today’s question is:

“Do you have an AND mindset?”