The Mind is like a Parachute
First Impression

“The mind is like a parachute. It works best when it is open!”

One risk of entering negotiations with a preconceived position is that the negotiator’s focus is on achieving that position. We often forget that a particular position or demand is only one of many possible ways of achieving a goal or an objective. If we are too focused on “our answer” we may miss an equally acceptable or even better solution that another negotiating party may propose.

We can be like the sailors shipwrecked on an uncharted atoll. They salvaged what they could and took careful account of their available resources. In addition to some limited food and supplies. They began to harvest and dry available shellfish and crated a primitive still out of a plastic tarpaulin, draping it above the sand and collecting the moisture that accumulated on the under side. Luckily, one of the items that they were able to who salvage was the book “Kon Tiki”. Using it they made plans to create a craft from wreckage and grasses and reeds on the atoll that could carry them at least to the shipping lanes and potentially to landfall. They calculated that they would be able to construct their craft and collect sufficient food and water to set off in about three weeks if they were not discovered.

Their third day on the island a fully provisioned life boat that had apparently fallen off a cruise ship washed up on shore.

Excitedly they broke it up to create the craft they had designed and were able to leave in only a few days.