When they learn how to negotiate and solve problems, students in management schools are taught two things. First, they are to look for and recognize any cognitive biases that may be affecting their own decisions about possible solutions. Second, in any disagreement, they are to seek out "wise tradeoffs": resolutions that minimize the costs and maximize the gains for all parties. Current and future executives are trained to craft agreements that create value by enlarging the pie of resources available, and to avoid the pitfalls that reduce organizational effectiveness.

But if pragmatic business leaders have adopted such non-adversarial techniques, why has government grown increasingly combative? Why do our government leaders continually make decisions and craft policies that everyone knows are improduent? It's not because they're ignorant or corrupt, but because our leaders, like the rest of us, are trapped in careless and unproductive habits of thinking. With fascinating case studies and clear, compelling analysis, Bazerman, Baron and Shonk dissect six flawed ways of thinking that serve as psychological barriers to effective government:

• Do no harm
• Their gain is our loss
• Competition is always good
• Support our group
• Live for the moment
• No pain for us, no gain for them

"You Can't Enlarge the Pie" takes apart the unspoken assumptions that lead to bad policy, wasted resources, and lost lives, shows exactly why they're wrong, and - most importantly - shows how we can do better. This book, rich in counterintuitive wisdom that works, is for everyone with an interest in how public policy is made.