A Train Ride
I’m learning more on the train every day.
On my way to New York last week, I overheard the conductor processing an upgrade to first class. When he got to me to collect my ticket, I asked under what conditions could that be done, since I had not known it was possible for people to do it.
He told me that when the first class car wasn’t filled, he was authorized to allow upgrades, but it was harder than ever now, and he had to guess about whether it would be filled in the two stops before New York.
“Why is it harder now?” the consultant asked.
“Because ever since the freight train wreck, where they found the engineer was text messaging at the time of the accident, the government has prohibited train employees from using cell phones, so I can no longer call ahead to check on passenger capacity.”
“But you’re a conductor, not an engineer.”
“The government doesn’t discriminate in its laws. The penalty is 30 days suspension without pay. I can’t risk that.”
The late, great Peter Drucker commented once that laws created to foil one miscreant are always bad laws because they punish 100 innocents.
You can’t legislate judgment. It’s bad enough we have to suffer being seen as criminals and semi-strip before being judged as innocent in airport security lines. For 50 years, people have been afraid to remove mattress tags that forebodingly declare, “Do not remove under penalty of law.”
When you hire well, train well, reward appropriately, monitor and evaluate performance frequently, and provide proper management, people are able to synthesize rules and judgment. A non-refundable ticket is refunded because of exceptional circumstances. An improperly completed form is still accepted because to deny it would create undue hardship. Someone understands that engineers shouldn’t be on the phone but conductors need to be.
The auto executives and newspaper executives and airline executives have made a mess of their industries. To think that the government running any of them would improve things requires a suspension of belief and access to certain controlled substances.
There is no replacement for leadership, competence, and good judgment. What I’ve been applying throughout my consulting career is common sense, and I’ve made a fortune doing so.
Astoundingly, it’s in very short supply.
© Alan Weiss 2009. All rights reserved.
