Some time ago I attended a webinar about successful negotiation and heard a story which doesn’t let me go anymore. It is so simple and yet unexpected and somewhat incomprehensible. It is about a father, his three sons and 17 camels. For your inspiration, this Monday I’d like to tell you a story about unexpected possibilities and solutions.
An old father makes plans
Once upon a time there was a father who already had spent many days on this earth. To settle things for past his death he decided to set up a last will. The old father wasn’t rich but he had 17 camels. Those camels always provided a good service to him and he wanted to pass them to his three sons after his death. Therefore he had the following separation in mind:
His oldest son had a wife and two kids to take care of, he should receive one half of the camels.
His second-oldest son just made himself a home with his beautiful wife in a village nearby, he should receive one third of the camels.
The youngest son was only 16 years old. But to give him a base for the future his father wanted to pass on one ninth of his camels to him.
Three brothers fight
When the father finally died his sons were truly sad. So they decided to follow their father’s wish and to separate the camels like he said in his will. But they weren’t prepared for the result of the try.
On half of 17 camels are 8 camels and a half.
One third of 17 camels are 5 camels and two thirds.
And one ninth of 17 camels are only one whole camel and 8 ninth of a second one.
Of course, this was a really unsatisfying solution. What should they do with those parts of whole camels? And they wondered how their father could have made such a big mistake. He must have been really bad in arithmetic.
The inevitable happened: The sons started to discuss and argue and in the end there was a horrible fight.
A wise man does the impossible
Eventually the three brothers heard of a wise man and asked for his advice. Instead of responding to the brother’s positions and demands he asked them about their real interest in the case. “We want whole camels and not useless parts of some. And we want to follow the will of our beloved father.”
The old man reflected on the topic for a while. Then he offered his own camel in addition to the 17 camels of the old father. And they separated the camels again.
One half of 18 camels are 9 camels for the oldest son.
One third of 18 camels are 6 for the second-oldest son.
And with a ninth of 18 camels the youngest son received two whole camels.
But wait: 9 + 6 + 2 = 17! Where was the 18th camel?
Right, the 18th camel went back to the wise man who had solved the problem of the three brothers.
Conclusion
Even in the toughest negotiations there are ways out and solutions which might not be visible on the first glance. But they are worth looking for because that’s the core of successful win-win negotiation.
=> Many thanks to MDI trainer Vladimir Novac for this inspiring story. 🙂
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