Family Business Blog
The Art of Negotiation - A Succession Parable
A farmer died leaving his 17 horses to his three sons.
When his sons opened up the Will it read:My eldest son should get 1/2 (half) of the horses;My middle son should be given 1/3rd (one-third) of the total horses;My youngest son should be given 1/9th (one-ninth) of the total horses.
As it’s impossible to divide 17 into half or 17 by 3 or 17 by 9, the three sons started to fight with each other.
Eventually, they decided to go to a farmer friend who they considered quite smart, to see if he could work it out for them. (I, of course, would have suggested a family business facilitator!)
The farmer friend read the Will patiently, after giving due thought, he brought one of his own horses over and added it to the 17. That increased the total to 18 horses.
Now, he divided the horses according to their father's Will.
Half of 18 = 9. So he gave the eldest son 9 horses.1/3rd of 18 = 6. So he gave the middle son 6 horses.1/9th of 18 = 2. So he gave the youngest son 2 horses.
Now add up how many horses they have:
Eldest son……..9Middle son…….6Youngest son…2
TOTAL IS…….17
Now this leaves one horse over, so the farmer friend takes his horse back to his farm.
Problem Solved!
Moral:
The attitude of negotiation and problem solving is to find the 18th horse i.e. the common ground. Once a person is able to find the 18th horse the issue is resolved. It is difficult at times. However, to reach a solution, the first step is to believe that there is a solution.To quote Henry Ford, “whether you think you can, or you think you can't - you're right.” You have to want to find a better outcome.
As it’s impossible to divide 17 into half or 17 by 3 or 17 by 9, the three sons started to fight with each other.
Eventually, they decided to go to a farmer friend who they considered quite smart, to see if he could work it out for them. (I, of course, would have suggested a family business facilitator!)
The farmer friend read the Will patiently, after giving due thought, he brought one of his own horses over and added it to the 17. That increased the total to 18 horses.
Now, he divided the horses according to their father's Will.
Half of 18 = 9. So he gave the eldest son 9 horses.1/3rd of 18 = 6. So he gave the middle son 6 horses.1/9th of 18 = 2. So he gave the youngest son 2 horses.
Now add up how many horses they have:
Eldest son……..9Middle son…….6Youngest son…2
TOTAL IS…….17
Now this leaves one horse over, so the farmer friend takes his horse back to his farm.
Problem Solved!
Moral:
The attitude of negotiation and problem solving is to find the 18th horse i.e. the common ground. Once a person is able to find the 18th horse the issue is resolved. It is difficult at times. However, to reach a solution, the first step is to believe that there is a solution.To quote Henry Ford, “whether you think you can, or you think you can't - you're right.” You have to want to find a better outcome.
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