From Slate Magazine · · 1m 20s
The zero-sum mistake is costing everyone
Ford Foundation's Roy Swan argues that the belief someone must lose for you to win is draining the whole economy.
In brief
Ford Foundation's Roy Swan argues that the belief someone must lose for you to win is draining the whole economy. Impact and profit are not a trade-off; treating them as one leaves money and progress on the table. Originally reported by Slate Magazine.
A bet against zero sum
On Money Talks, Elizabeth Spiers sits down with Roy Swan to take apart one of the most stubborn assumptions in business: that every winner needs a loser.
Who Roy Swan is
Swan runs the mission investments program at the Ford Foundation, which puts real capital behind deals that are supposed to do good and still pay off.
The assumption on trial
The standard view says you pick one: positive impact or positive returns. Swan's position is that this framing is simply wrong, not just unkind.
“the idea that someone has to lose in order for you to win”
It costs money, not just morals
Swan's argument is economic as much as ethical. Zero-sum thinking carries a societal price and an economic one, shrinking the pie everybody is fighting over.
Impact and returns together
The two are not mutually exclusive. Deals structured for both can work, which is the whole premise of how Swan deploys Ford Foundation capital.
The book behind the case
Swan lays it out in Positive Sum: How Zero-sum Thinking Broke Capitalism, and How We Can Fix It. The episode is the short version of that argument.
The big picture
Impact and profit are not a trade-off; treating them as one leaves money and progress on the table.
