Posted on 06/04/2019 1:12:08 PM PDT by NobleFree
Postal workers motto, “ Ill just make them do it.....or I will kill them all.”
It’s the old IT joke:
Q: How was God able to create the world in 6 days?
A: He didn’t have an installed base.
Good article. It took me a long time to realize IJFT is a bad way to go. Sometimes you have to, but it’s never easy, especially when your employees belong to unions.
I’ve largely made a career out of teaching and consulting on the points raised by this post (and related ones), sans the political angles. Even argued with people on here about such things — ex-military types who believe leadership is a one way street: the boss talks, you do what he says. There’s nothing new here; these so-called techniques (bossing around) never worked, at least not for long periods of time. The problem is that the response is often going all the way over to the other side — trying to be friends.
Don’t forget Eric “I’ll nuke them if they don’t turn-in their guns” Swalwell.
Excellent post. When I’m approached about convincing a team to change behaviors I always ask what the result is they want to achieve.
Then I tell them they get what they measure.
It’s not a perfect answer and it requires time to achieve the result, but it works.
I took a graduate management class many years ago.
The instructor posed a question
If you were king of the world for a day...what would be the first thing you did.
Most women answered world peace, and men said make themselves filth rich.
I answered that I would execute everyone on death row. When queried why, I said that is served a greater good, and did not benefit me directly. When asked why I wouldn’t make myself rich I pointed out that I was already “king” and thus was already “rich”. I further pointed out that I could make myself rich at 23:59 rather than at 00:01
I remember taking over a group of disguntled employees as a Second Lieutenant. It was a disfunctional unit with just about everyone working for me hating to be in the military. I called each one over on a one to one basis and asked them that, understanding they needed to serve their duty, if they could do anything in the office they wanted what would it be. Each stated that they would like to do this or that and I said, “Ok, you are now in charge of that task.” Within two months we were a well oiled machine. It was a experience I never forgot as well as earning me a commendation.
Capitalism works the same way. Let people do what they want to do and stand out of their way.
Great story, but what would you have done if the overwhelming majority of them wanted to be in charge of the same task?
Yet you accuse the original poster of being a 'blogpimp'.
Do you believe that a blog that could produce this article (an article you find relevant and important) shouldn't be promoted?
Not promoted by pimping - that is, needlessly posting only an excerpt in order to drive hits to the blog. Jim has said that's not what FR is for, and I agree with him 100%.
“I have no complaint if a good conservative blogger posts his own material to FR, not as an excerpt to drive hits and discussion back to his blog, but rather to impart useful information to OUR readers and to promote and join in on the discussion and conservative activism HERE on FR.
“If a blogger can’t or refuses do that, and if he constantly complains or fights with our participants over it, then I’d just as soon he doesn’t post here. It’s not my job to make his content or his presentation or cooperation acceptable to our readers. That’s his job. And if he cannot do it or refuses to do it and continues posting brief excerpts only and obviously attempting to draw away our participants while loudly complaining about it, then I have no sympathy for his complaints and the more apt I am to ban his account and blog.” - http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2636843/posts?page=552#552
It’s the old IT joke:
Q: How was God able to create the world in 6 days?
A: He didn’t have an installed base.
Alternate answer: He didn’t have a project manager.
Would alter the phrase a bit (have a psychiatrist friend who constantly has to deal with the fallout of postal worker’s management failure— aside from their own “issues”. The US PO is hardly advanced management— it is civilian version of military top down, with zero incentives as it is a “civil service job. Built for failure).
Postal Management motto: “ I’ll just make them do it, and harass them when they don’t do as ordered. And.. they will come back to the workplace and “go postal” with violence— against everyone, but especially “management”.
A great leader gets his people to do things because they want to. As a Marine NCO and SNCO I rarely had to resort to the old “because I said so” way of doing things. Train your people to the point that you can disappear on leave for two weeks and things still run as if you had been there. Train your people to take your place, give them ownership and hold them accountable. Allow them to come up with ways to do it better and let them implement them. Allow them to fail as long as they are doing the right thing, then constructively critique their effort and allow them to fix the problem. Do this, and they will crawl through Hell in gun powder suits for you. I left the Marine Corps knowing the Marines that were put in my charge were going to be good leaders.
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