Coaching practices for I'm Walking Into This Dead Certain It's One Fixed Pie Whatever They Get I Lose So I'm Already Guarding My Slice and I Never Stop to Ask Whether the Thing We're Dividing is Actually Fixed or Just the Only Way We've Ever Framed it
Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For I'm Walking Into This Dead Certain It's One Fixed Pie Whatever They Get I Lose So I'm Already Guarding My Slice and I Never Stop to Ask Whether the Thing We're Dividing is Actually Fixed or Just the Only Way We've Ever Framed it, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.
Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?
- I’m walking into this dead certain it’s one fixed pie
- I’m walking into this thing braced for a fight, certain that whatever they get is coming straight out of my pocket
- I’m walking into this assuming it’s a fixed pie where their win is my loss, and I’ve only ever thought through my own side
- We’re deadlocked because they’re certain the numbers will land one way and I’m just as certain they won’t
- We’re treating this like there’s one pie to fight over and someone has to lose
Practices that may help
- Negotiate from abundance, not scarcity
Question the assumption that what one side gains the other must lose.
The Third Alternative, Made Practical - Reject the fixed-pie assumption
Stop assuming your gain must be their loss — most negotiations have hidden joint gains.
Win-Win Thinking: Expanding the Pie - Map interests for both sides before generating solutions
Write down both parties’ known and inferred interests before proposing anything — the map reveals trades that no single position could.
Interests vs. Positions: The Core of Integrative Negotiation - Write contingent contracts when forecasts disagree
If you and the other side have different predictions, let the outcome decide who was right.
Expanding the Pie: Negotiation Beyond Splitting the Difference - Invent options for mutual gain
Brainstorm multiple possible deals before deciding, expanding the pie before splitting it.
Getting to Yes: Principled Negotiation - Add issues to expand the pie
Bring more variables in — timing, scope, future work — so there’s more to trade.
Win-Win Thinking: Expanding the Pie - Set the reference point before you introduce the loss
Loss is always measured from a reference point — who sets that point controls the framing.
The Loss Frame: How Framing Shapes Decisions - Map the ZOPA before negotiating
Know your walk-away point and estimate theirs before the first offer is made.
Expanding the Pie: Negotiation Beyond Splitting the Difference - Break apart perceptual chunks that may be blocking you
If a problem object looks like one thing, try perceiving it as separate parts with separate functions.
Constraint Relaxation: Escaping the Walls You Built Yourself - Use a post-settlement settlement to improve a deal after agreement
Once you have a deal, offer to keep exploring whether a better one exists for both sides.
Expanding the Pie: Negotiation Beyond Splitting the Difference
Related concerns
- Reject Fixed Pie
Question the assumption that what one side gains the other must lose.
Negotiate from abundance, not scarcity
- When Interests Vs Positions Map Interests For Both Sides
Write down both parties’ known and inferred interests before proposing anything — the map reveals trades that no single position could.
Map interests for both sides before generating solutions
- Fixed Pie Bias Negotiation
Stop assuming your gain must be their loss — most negotiations have hidden joint gains.
Reject the fixed-pie assumption
- Expanding The Pie Negotiation Beyond Splitting The Difference After A Loss
Expanding the pie means trading across issues that the two parties value differently, so both sides gain more than any fixed compromise would allow. Malhotra and Bazerman’s research shows that most negotiators leave joint gains on the table because they treat every issue as a zero-sum battle.
- Expanding The Pie Negotiation Beyond Splitting The Difference After A Setback
Expanding the pie means trading across issues that the two parties value differently, so both sides gain more than any fixed compromise would allow. Malhotra and Bazerman’s research shows that most negotiators leave joint gains on the table because they treat every issue as a zero-sum battle.
- Expanding The Pie Negotiation Beyond Splitting The Difference At Work
Expanding the pie means trading across issues that the two parties value differently, so both sides gain more than any fixed compromise would allow. Malhotra and Bazerman’s research shows that most negotiators leave joint gains on the table because they treat every issue as a zero-sum battle.
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