Excerpt from Upcoming Book

Chapter 1 - Win:X

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However, where the concept of win-win falls down is precisely because it’s designed for personal relationships, not necessarily for the corporate world. What a number of self-help books and management/leadership training courses try to do is to use the same concept and transfer it to corporate life. Middle management is full of people trying to achieve win-win scenarios. The idea is that all ships will rise when the tide rises and that success for the collective is also individual success.

But the reality is, the corporate world is not always a friendly place where everyone can have their cake and eat it too. In the competitive landscape of business, achieving a true win-win scenario is often easier said than done.

While the notion of collaboration and mutual benefit sounds appealing in theory, in practice it can be a dog-eat-dog world where personal interests often clash with collective goals. Middle managers may preach about win-win situations, but when it comes down to it, shrewd operators will recognise that to outperform competitors and climb the corporate ladder, one needs to stand out. In this harsh environment, those who cling too tightly to the ideal of win-win will find themselves taken advantage of by more ruthless colleagues.

So, as much as I’m sure we'd all like to believe in the power of win-win, in the cutthroat world of business, it's survival of the fittest that prevails. Balancing personal success with the greater good of the company is a delicate dance that few can master. But in a world where success is often measured by individual achievements rather than collective harmony, achieving true win-win remains an elusive dream for many in the corporate world.

Now I’m not saying that win-win is always a bad idea in business. Grouping together with others to form co-operatives or share investment risk can be very advantageous. Working with someone to achieve a common goal that benefits the two of you should not be sniffed at. It is a legitimate strategy and, in many scenarios, can be the best strategy.

But here’s the kicker. In any one organisation, there can only be one CEO, there can be only one head of each department. In life, only one person can be the world record holder for something. There can only be one president of a country. The stark reality is, as much as we may like to live in a world where everyone is equal, we are not. Every pyramid has a brick at the very pinnacle, the highest brick of the lot, and that brick sits on top of thousands of others. If it didn’t, it would just be a brick on the ground! In a world where resources are finite, and the rewards for being at the top of the pile are immense, not every situation lends itself to a win-win outcome.

The people with their sights set on the very top know this. It’s those people that I have spent years watching, working with and understanding. I’m not talking about middle managers satisfied with a small team to look after, or team leaders whose responsibility it is to allocate tasks on a daily basis. I’m talking about the big dogs. I’m talking about those who earn, or aspire to earn, 7 or 8-figure sums. Those who know that the only way to achieve that level of income is to get right to the very top. It’s those individuals with their eyes on the prize — whether you like them or not — that people say about them, “that person will go far”. They haven’t quite made it to immortal c*** status yet, and so I like to refer to them as Wannabe C***s or WCs for short.

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