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Dawson Radcliffe is the award-winning author of The Business of Getting Down to Business: An Executive's Guide for Improving All Areas of an Organization, which has spent 16 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller list. A self-made top executive who served as CEO of Trenton Media, Radcliffe currently sits on the board of two Fortune 500 companies. Dawson is a renowned speaker as well, consistently rating among the best and most blunt speakers to audiences he addresses.

by Dawson Radcliffe

Have you read those other books that tout win-win as this euphoric decision-making process in which everyone involved walks away feeling good about the outcome and fully supportive of its action plan? You have, haven’t you? This brings me back to a point I’ve made time and again: If you have read or are considering reading other books on the subject of business or any of its subcategories, don’t. They are full of varied ideas that contradict one another. The solution is to read just this book, then stop reading altogether and get down to the business of getting down to business.

Using the win-win approach may be suited for sharing a pack of gum, but the flawed system has no place in the business world. When these other so-called business experts go around lecturing about making decisions that benefit everyone, they are ignoring one key element: pinpointing losers.

In business, it’s incredibly necessary we have both winners and losers in compromise. Have you looked up the meaning of compromise lately? I haven’t. I refuse give in to the dictionary’s claim that it knows more than I do, keeping me a winner and that arcane word bank a loser. But if I recall correctly, and I always do, compromise is defined by concessions.

If you are to be a great leader in any organization, you must adopt the triumph-lose approach. Some would compare this to what others have called a flawed win-lose technique of compromise. They would be wrong. First, win-lose is not inherently flawed. Being a win-lose leader means using your power of rank and your threat of consequence to get what you want from your employees, vendors, shareholders, customers, and competitors. The win-lose approach is the foundation of triumph-lose.

But to achieve triumph-lose, you must take it further. To triumph means not just to be victorious, but to be victorious by conquest (Didn’t need you for that one either, Mr. Webster. Looks like you’re on the wrong side of triumph-lose). See, victory is not enough to succeed in today’s business world. You must crush and humiliate anyone seeking to sit down and work out a compromise. (Enjoying the fireplace, dictionary?) Chances are the people you deal with will have read one of those other books not written by Dawson Radcliffe. And they will falsely assume you are willing to engage in some joyous win-win meeting.

You will thank me when you have the upper hand and when you get everything you want. In business, there is no place for that feelings and emotions baggage. Treat everyone with a triumph-lose approach, and you will be shocked how quickly you propel to higher-paying positions.