The CEO and board spent three meetings arguing over his bonus, quoting KPIs and “current market conditions.” The consultant calmly billed for conflict management and facilitation, earning more than the bonus, even though they did not attend the final meeting.
Negotiation often begins with an unspoken assumption that the pie is already baked, its size fixed, and its slices limited. Whoever takes a bigger piece must be stealing from the other. This belief quietly shapes boardroom arguments, salary discussions, regulatory debates, and even family business conversations. The moment this mindset enters the room, creativity exits. What follows is not negotiation, but a slow tug-of-war where everyone pulls hard, and the rope eventually snaps.
This is what negotiation scholars describe as the fixed-pie mentality, or the Trump model. It is the belief that one party’s gain automatically requires another’s loss. Global research suggests this belief is not just common but deeply flawed. Studies from Harvard’s Program on Negotiation show that a majority of negotiators systematically fail to identify opportunities for mutual gain, leaving significant value on the table simply because they assume it does not exist. McKinsey’s work on complex negotiations further indicates that organisations that move beyond zero-sum thinking generate materially higher long-term value and more durable agreements than those that focus only on who wins today.
In Bangladesh, the fixed-pie mindset is visible across sectors. Employers assume employees want more pay at the cost of profitability, while employees assume management wants profit at the cost of dignity. Boards treat management as cost centres, management treats boards as threats, regulators see industries as adversaries, and businesses view policy as punishment. Everyone negotiates defensively, as if survival depends on extracting concessions rather than creating solutions. The outcome is predictable. Deals get delayed, relationships erode, and mistrust becomes institutionalised. Eventually, the pie shrinks for everyone.
The irony is that most negotiations are not inherently zero-sum. Compensation discussions are not only about money but also about growth, learning, flexibility, and recognition. Corporate deals are rarely just about valuation; they involve risk allocation, timelines, governance, reputation, and future opportunities. National-level negotiations around investment, energy, or infrastructure are never about a single transaction. They are about credibility, continuity, and confidence. When negotiators obsess over one variable and ignore the rest, they fight fiercely over a small slice while ignoring the bakery next door.
Evidence from Asia offers useful lessons. Economies that have successfully attracted long-term investment tend to negotiate on multiple dimensions simultaneously. By aligning interests rather than rigid positions, they expand the value pool and then share it. Research from the World Bank shows that countries with higher trust and collaborative negotiation cultures experience lower transaction costs, faster deal closures, and stronger private sector participation. These are not abstract theories. They translate directly into jobs, investment, and growth.
Overcoming the fixed-pie mentality requires a shift in mindset rather than tactics. It starts with curiosity rather than suspicion, and with asking why the other side wants something rather than assuming bad faith. It requires the maturity to separate ego from outcome and to recognise that walking away with a sustainable agreement is more powerful than winning a loud argument. Most importantly, it demands an understanding that negotiation is rarely a one-time event. In a small economy like ours, today’s opponent is tomorrow’s partner.
The real cost of fixed-pie thinking is not a bad deal. It is the normalisation of conflict, the erosion of trust, and the gradual weakening of institutions. When leaders negotiate as if value is finite, they create scarcity where none is necessary. When they negotiate to create value, they strengthen themselves, their organisations, and the nation as a whole. A country does not grow by fighting over slices. It grows by learning how to bake a bigger pie and, wisely, agreeing on how to share it.
The writer is the president of the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Bangladesh and founder of BuildCon Consultancies Ltd
