A Counterintuitive Way to Learn Things That Don’t Interest You
How thinking about others can help you learn the seemingly un-learnable.
“After considering your argument, we’ve come up with the following offer. We’ll give you one camel in return for three cows. You need transportation, we need milk.”
“How about one camel for two cows?”
“Three cows, or else you won’t be able to get around.”
“One camel for three cows? You have yourselves a deal!”
The above conversation took place during my negotiations class at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. After each mock negotiation our professor, Nour Kteily, would debrief us.
In this simulation, I was the person who accepted the deal with minimal hesitation. Professor Ktiely noticed my complacency, and he was curious as to why I gave in so quickly.
I told him that I knew it was a roleplay, and that I couldn’t convince myself to really desire a camel or fear giving away a cow. When the other side seemed to care more about the issue than I did, I just succumbed to the pressure and gave them what they wanted.
Professor Kteily then gave me some thought-provoking words of wisdom. “You’re not the only one who needs a camel.”
