The Greengrocer, The Governor, and The Prime Minister

Before we dive into the geopolitical earthquake that happened at Davos last week - a perfect illustration of zero-sum and positive-sum thinking - I want to start with an update from the writing desk!

First: A Massive Thank You

The crowdfunding campaign has officially closed, and I am honestly floored by the support. To everyone who backed the book, bought a bundle, or shared the link: Thank you.

Writing is mostly a solitary experience. You spend months inside your own head, wondering if the ideas will work. Seeing the list of supporters was a validation and a great help to push through this final stage.

"Can I still get involved?"

Since the campaign closed, I’ve had a number of emails from people asking if they can still support the book or secure a bundle. If you're interested too, please let me know by return email.

The short answer is to the requests: I am currently reviewing options. The crowdfunding platform is closed, but I am considering setting up a "Pre-Order" page on my website for those who missed the window. I will update you as soon as I have a solution.

The Reality of "Revision Editing"

Right now, my focus has shifted to the manuscript. I have officially entered the "Revision Editing" phase.

If you haven't written a book, you might assume this means fixing typos and checking grammar. I wish it were that simple! Revision editing is more like taking a house you have just built and deciding to move the staircase.

I am working with a specialist revision editor who is challenging every assumption in the draft. We are looking at the structure, the flow, and the arguments. It is exhausting work, but the result is going to be a book that is sharper, tighter, and far more useful to you.

Okay - so now a bit of politics. Here's why...

You might be wondering: “Grant, I signed up for a book about conflict resolution in life and work. Why are you writing about Prime Ministers and Presidents?”

It is a fair question. Perhaps you are here because of the promise the book holds to help you in leading your business.

My book, The Zero-Sum Illusion, is an actionable toolkit to stop conflict winning in our lives, our organisations, and in society. But I am convinced that we cannot separate "Life" from "Society." My experiences in South Africa, which I have written about before, convinced me of this.

Think about it carefully and I hope you will agree: Zero-Sum thinking - that for you to win, means I will lose - is a virus. When it infects the global stage, it trickles down into our markets, our companies, and eventually our dinner tables. The anxiety we feel in our teams often starts with the instability we see in the headlines. AND it works the other way too: what starts with one person - individuals living their day to day lives, parents, business leaders, political leaders, changes our homes, organisations and society.

To change the world, we have to start with ourselves (the "Me" in my framework). But to understand ourselves, we have to understand the water we are swimming in (the "Them" in my book).

The Earthquakes of January

And the water right now is boiling.

The last two weeks have been a lesson in pure, unfiltered Zero-Sum politics. We have seen the US President threaten to annex Greenland -essentially threatening to invade a NATO ally - and to impose tariffs on anyone who stands with Denmark. We have seen the military seizure of Nicolas Maduro and his wife, followed by explicit statements that the goal is securing Venezuela's oil, not to tackle corruption.

This is the world of "The Strong do what they wish."

Which brings me to what happened in Switzerland last week.

The Davos Earthquake

For those of us based in the UK, Mark Carney is a familiar figure. We remember him as the Governor of the Bank of England - a calm, authoritative voice guiding the economy.

But last week at Davos, Carney - now ten months into his role as Prime Minister of Canada - did something that Western leaders, unfortunately, almost never do.

He stopped pretending.

Usually, leaders at Davos pretend that events like the Greenland threats or the Maduro seizure are just "bumps in the road." They pretend the "Rules-Based International Order" is still functioning, and so they try to appease the powerful and fall in line with them, usually out of fear.

Carney tore that delusion down in a speech which many many commentators recognise as the real show of power at Davos. If you haven't read or heard it, I strongly encourage you to do so.

The Sign in the Window

Carney referenced Václav Havel’s famous essay, The Power of the Powerless. In this essay Havel described a greengrocer living under communism who puts a sign in his window: "Workers of the world, unite!"

The grocer doesn’t believe it, other shopkeepers don't believe it. No one does. But everyone plays along to avoid trouble. Havel called this "living within a lie."

Carney’s argument? The "Rules-Based Order" is our sign in the window.

He argued that we can no longer pretend that trade is fair or that borders are safe when "Great Powers" are openly weaponizing supply chains and seizing territory.

As the Prime Minister noted: "You cannot live within the lie of mutual benefit through integration when integration becomes the source of your subordination."

Havel called this “living within a lie.” The system’s power comes not from its truth but from everyone’s willingness to perform as if it were true. And its fragility comes from the same source: when even one person stops performing - when the greengrocer removes his sign - the *illusion *begins to crack. Mark Carney, Davos 2026

The "Positive-Sum" Pivot

This speech is the clearest high-level articulation of the Zero-Sum Illusion I have seen in recent time. But crucially, Carney didn't just diagnose the disease; he offered a cure.

He proposed a strategy of "Values-Based Realism." It is a masterclass in the Me/Them/Us framework I introduce in my book:

• Me (Internal Strength): You cannot be sovereign if you are fragile. Carney highlighted that this is his priority, and, for example, his government is fast-tracking a trillion dollars into energy, AI, and defence.
• Them (Strategic Understanding): Stop pretending the world is nice. See the Great Powers as they are - rivals who will use force to get what they want.
• Us (The Third Path): This is the pivot. He explicitly stated: "Complementarities are positive sum."

He argued that "Middle Powers" (like the UK and Canada) cannot survive alone. But by building specific, pragmatic coalitions - buyer’s clubs for minerals, defensive alliances for the Arctic - they can create a "third path" that generates value rather than just extracting it.

The Lesson for Us

You might not be running a G7 country (yet!), but the lesson here applies to every leader, at home, in the office, and in society.

In a world that is rapidly becoming more "Zero-Sum," the temptation is to build a fortress. To hoard information, trust no one, and look out for Number One.

But Carney is asserting that the way to survive a Zero-Sum world is to build Positive-Sum alliances. I believe it, and know it to be true based on experience.

The power of the less powerful begins with honesty. It begins by taking the sign out of the window, naming reality, and finding the partners who share your values.

That is how we stop conflict winning - whether in the Arctic or in the boardroom, or at home.

Best wishes being "principled and pragmatic" in all you do! Grant

To chat about how these ideas apply to your own work or leadership, reply to this email. I’m booking 15-minute virtual coffees and would love to meet you. Book it directly in my calendar here.

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