The Bartering Mindset

Preoccupation with money encourages seeing all negotiations through a “monetary mind-set.”

Negotiating and making deals is more complex than ever. And being preoccupied with money doesn’t make either step any easier. Money carries a bad psychological side effect: You see your needs in direct opposition to the needs of the person with whom you are negotiating. This can make you less caring, less generous and less fair.

The monetary mind-set is adversarial and views transactions in terms of winners and losers. It seldom guarantees the best outcome; compromises frequently fail to enrich either party. The monetary mind-set makes five assumptions: 

1. That you represent one side of the transaction as either the buyer or the seller.
2. That you will interact with the opposing side as either the buyer or the seller.
3. That you have one goal and the other side wants the opposite.
4. That you can get a better deal only if the other party gets a worse deal.
5. That you can compromise your way out of conflict.

These assumptions are common sense in easy transactions, such as purchasing gas, because...