9

Out of the Shadows

Some people, when they do someone a favor, are always looking for a chance to call it in. And some

aren’t, but they’re still aware of it—still regard it as a debt. But others don’t even do that. They’re like

a vine that produces grapes without looking for anything in return... after helping others... They

just go on to something else... We should be like that.

—Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor

A number of years ago, an imposing figure made his mark on the sports world. Well over six feet tall
and two hundred pounds, Derek Sorenson was a tough, aggressive competitor who struck fear into the
hearts of his opponents. He led his NCAA team to a national championship and went on to play in the
pros. After his career was cut short by an injury, he was courted by the finest professional teams in
his sport to become a contract negotiator. He would be wheeling and dealing with players and agents
in the hopes of building a world-class team.
To sharpen his bargaining skills, Derek enrolled in a negotiation course at a leading business
school. During each class session, he had the chance to practice negotiating in a variety of roles,
ranging from a pharmaceutical executive trying to buy a manufacturing plant to a condo developer in a
heated dispute with a carpenter. In one of his earliest negotiations, Derek bought a property as a real
estate investment, and in top taker form, he persuaded the listing agent to sell at a price that went
directly against her client’s interests.
On an icy winter evening, Derek played the role of one of four fishermen who ran competing
businesses. They were overfishing to the point that the resource would become extinct, and they sat
down to discuss how they should handle the dilemma. One negotiator suggested that they should split
the maximum total fishing in four equal parts. Another proposed a different way of matching based on
equity rather than equality: since some of them were running larger operations than others, they should
each reduce their fishing by 50 percent. They all agreed that this was a fair solution, and the meeting
was adjourned. Now, it was up to each negotiator to make an individual decision about whether to
honor the agreement and how much to fish.