Do you focus on the size of the pie or the size of your slice?

The Pie Principle.

I read an article  a few years ago written by the founder of Cypress Semiconductor. I do not remember his name. The article stuck with me over the years and I have used the principle espoused in the article, as a discussion topic, in seminars and even in my venture capital days, when I met with aspiring entrepreneurs. I call it the Pie Principle.

It came up again a few days ago when someone asked me what principles I looked for in people. I replied that "I look for people who focus on increasing the size of the pie rather than increasing the size of their slice." When you increase the size of the pie, everyone wins. When you focus on increasing the size of your slice, someone has to lose.

Genuine entrepreneurs and genuine leaders are always focused on increasing the size of the pie--e.g. make the whole company more valuable so everyone's slice is worth more.

In the Midwest, Missouri and Kansas are separated by a river and a state border. The competition between the states is characterized as "border wars." Corporations with their tax dollars move back and forth responding to the current highest bidder. Each state focuses on increasing the size of its pie slice rather than increasing the size of the whole economic pie. It is a tragedy of economy stupidity. I am sure you can think of other examples where the Pie Principle is properly or improperly applied.

The next time you are in a discussion about your company or any organization, ask-- are the team members focused on enlarging the size of the pie or enlarging their own personal slice?  The answer may explain the reasons for the conflict.

For me, I wish to be a member of a team that focuses on increasing the size of the pie rather than increasing a member's own slice size. I often judge others by that same standard.