Definition
A situation where one party's gain is exactly balanced by another party's loss, resulting in no net change. The opposite of win-win, but arguably more honest about how most business negotiations actually work.
Example Usage
Negotiating salaries is often a zero-sum game—every dollar we save in payroll is a dollar employees don't earn.
Origin
Game theory terminology developed by mathematician John von Neumann in the 1940s
Fun Fact
Business leaders love to claim they're creating value and avoiding zero-sum thinking, yet most quarterly earnings calls celebrate market share gains stolen directly from competitors.
Source: Economic game theory and business strategy terminology
Related Terms
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See “zero-sum game” in Corporate Speak, Gen-Z Slang, Pirate Speak, and more.
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