The Law of Entropy
There has been a Netflix streaming series for eight seasons called “Suits,” about a high-end corporate law firm and its star litigator, and egotist named Harvey Specter. It clearly cost a fortune to shoot, and it has the novelty of main characters leaving the series. But it became a caricature of itself when the writing ran out of steam and the exact same situations kept reappearing. People walk into a room just in time to overhear key dialogue and profoundly comment at least three times every episode. I’ve been able to recite dialog in advance, to my wife’s frustration. (Every time someone knocks on a house door, the person opening it immediately says, “Why are you here?!”)
When you run out of creative juice in your work or your life, seek different sustenance. Nothing tastes better after recycling.
Smile
When you greet someone with a smile (in our and many other cultures), you’re going to improve the ensuing relationship or dealings most of the time. That applies whether you’re dealing with a customer or you are the customer. Smiles were developed by ancient humans as a way to attract less-aggressive mates, according to a new study. A team of scientists is claiming that the kindness humans can show via facial expressions was a key factor in our evolution.
It’s surprising to me how many restaurant hostesses do not smile when you provide your name and reservation, but act as if you’re disturbing them! I begin right away with a negative view of the place.
Now that we’re on Zoom so much this applies as well, but even on the phone you can usually “hear” someone smiling or not. It’s not a bad idea to look in a mirror during critical phone calls, because that will reveal your attitude and impact.
Frequency Creates Disregard
Many of us have been on airplanes where the pilot simply leaves the seatbelt sign on for hours, with no turbulence at all. I don’t know if this is perverse or simply absent-minded, neither of which I’d favor in a pilot. When it happens, people eventually get up and use the restrooms with the passive approval of the flight attendants.
This means that after being seated, many people aren’t concerned about the seat belts any more. That means they are unnecessarily taking a risk. But they’ve lost respect for the warning.
The highways are full of speed limit signs that 90 percent of drivers exceed to some degree in cars that are built to exceed them. Don’t create “blanket” rules for clients. Create specific directions that you follow up on to show they’re important.
What’s the Current and Future Target?
While I still run into a few people who refuse to use email in their businesses, I find them ridiculous. When people still use invalid and debunked personality tests, I don’t try to dissuade them, I simply won’t work with them. You can’t stay still as the world changes around you.
In the late 1930s Singapore, a British colony, was considered impregnable, with a jungle at its back and huge naval rifles pointing out to sea. The problem was that the Japanese found a way to come through that jungle and those huge guns couldn’t be turned around.
I can fill the rest of this newsletter with discarded management and leadership models. Change with the times. Or better still, change in advance of the times.
Machiavelli: “I always thought that the success or failures of men was due to the ability to suit their manner to the times.”
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