📖 Words from Daniel Pink’s book, To Sell Is Human…
Use your thumbs.
This is a group activity that you can use to make a memorable point. Along with yourself, you’ll need at least two more people as participants. Have everyone assemble themselves into pairs. Then ask each pair to “hook the fingers of your right hands and raise your thumbs.” Then, give the sole instruction: “Now get your partner’s thumb down.” Remain silent and allow the pairs to finish the task.
Most participants will assume that your instructions mean for them to thumb-wrestle. However, there are many other ways that they could get their partner’s thumb down. They could ask nicely. They could unhook their own fingers and put their own thumb down. And so on.
The lesson here is that too often our starting point is competition—a win-lose, zero-sum approach rather than the win-win, positive-sum approach of improvisation. In most circumstances that involve moving others, we have several ways to accomplish a task, most of which can make our partners look good in the process.
Who are the competitors in your space?
Instead of trying to beat them, is there a way you can team up with them and find a win-win? 🤔
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