This week-end was invested on Coaching a CEO on Negotiating Skills.. Mary Parker Follett - the Management Guru, was the first propounder of the concept of 'win-win' solutions. Whilst negotiating life-positions, all of us academically know it and mouth it religiously but most of us, do not practise it. See the exhibition of this every night on the gladiator - Arnab Goswami show !!!. On a given set of facts, one set of loud shouting panelists imagine that they have won. The other set of equally loud-db panelists image contrarily that they have won instead !! Each imagining victory for themselves is not win-win !!! Thank God - poor Mary Parker Follett does not have to see the Republic show each nihght !!! She propounded the 'Quarelling Orange Sisters' story to explain her concept (see doodle). Interesting ! Being 'tough & competitive' versus being 'nice & co-operative' are certainly not the two negotiating positions. One cannot choose between them. Skilled negotiators are fluent in both the languages : co-operation as well as competition ! They are masters of  'Co-ompetition' ...they know both - 'creating value' and 'claiming value'. Creating Value is about authentic 'Win-Win'... working on mutual gains for all involved parties. It is not about theoretically or imaginatively showing the other negotiator that he could do something to gain more out of the deal. Does not work that way. It is about genuine co-operation and meaningfully co-creating value for him. Claiming Value is about simultaneously enhancing your bottom line on your contributions. You just can't afford to be a good guy ! Claiming Value : None of the two sisters want no part of the Orange or only Silver. It is necessary to make claims in Negotiations ... claiming Value is about how Negotiators garner resources for themselves and their Companies. Afterall the purpose of business is to create Value for the business in the first instance whilst helping and partenering other stake holders to create theirs !!! You have squeeze full Value out of the transaction... leaving nothing on the table. Negotiating may sound daunting but if one is informed, practiced and prepared, any intelligent mind can do it. Even I can !!!