There was a father who left 17 camels as the inheritance for his three sons. When the father passed away, his sons opened up the will. 

The Will of the father stated that the eldest son should get half of 17 camels while the middle son should be given 1/3 (one-third). The youngest son should be given 1/9 (one-ninth) of the 17 camels. 

As it is not possible to divide 17 into half or 17 by 3 or 17 by 9, the three sons started to argue with each other, but didn’t want to generate a serious family dispute, so the three sons decided to consult a wise man. 

The wise man listened patiently to the three sons. The wise man, after giving the matter some thought, brought one camel of his own and added it to the willed 17. That increased the total to 18 camels. 

Now, he started reading the deceased father’s will. 

Half of 18 = 9. So he gave the eldest son 9 camels. 

1/3rd of 18 = 6. So he gave the middle son 6 camels. 

1/9th of 18 = 2. So he gave the youngest son 2 camels. 

Now add this up: 9 plus 6 plus 2 is 17, and this leaves one camel, which the wise man took away. 

The preferred approach in negotiation and problem-solving is to find the 18th camel, which often leads to common ground. 

Once the negotiators are able to find the 18th camel, the issue is resolved. 

Admittedly, this is difficult at times. 

However, to reach a solution, the first step is to believe that there is a solution. 

If we think beforehand that there is no solution, chances are we won’t be able to reach one.