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.
bkmk