Originally published in Entrepreneur

By Stephen Covey

This is an excerpt is from the classic best-seller, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and has been edited for brevity. Habit 4 discusses many approaches to negotiation and why one strategy stands out from the rest. The 30th-anniversary edition of the celebrated book by the late author is being published next month by Simon and Schuster.

Win/Win is a frame of mind and heart that constantly seeks mutual benefit in all human interactions. Win/Win means that agreements or solutions are mutually beneficial, mutually satisfying.

With a Win/Win solution, all parties feel good about the decision and feel committed to the action plan. Win/Win sees life as a cooperative, not a competitive arena. Most people tend to think in terms of dichotomies: strong or weak, hardball or softball, win or lose.

But that kind of thinking is fundamentally flawed. It’s based on power and position rather than on principle. Win/Win is based on the paradigm that there is plenty for everybody, that one person’s success is not achieved at the expense or exclusion of the success of others.

Win/Win is a belief in the third alternative. It’s not your way or my way; it’s a better way, a higher way.

Read the full article in Entrepreneur.

Stephen Covey is a consultant with FranklinCovey.