WHO HAS GOT YOUR BACK?

BRYCE ON BUSINESS



To use this segment in a Radio broadcast or Podcast, send TIM a request.

In the office, we like to believe our fellow co-workers will back us up when push comes to shove. Actually, we’re being quite naive when this occurs. To illustrate, there was a systems manager in Chicago who had grown weary of the petty politics practiced by his boss, the I.T. Director. Projects were late, none of the systems were integrated, end-users were unhappy, and they found themselves in a constant fire-fighting mode (maintenance) as opposed to conquering new challenges. Instead of implementing discipline and organization, the Director played political games pitting his workers against each other, and morale deteriorated. The systems manager’s staff was unhappy and frequently vented their frustrations to him. Conditions got so bad, the manager told his staff he was going to march into the Director’s office, register a formal complaint and threaten that he and his department were prepared to resign. Everyone thought this was a bold and imaginative move which they endorsed.

The Director listened patiently. When the manager was finished, the Director asked for his resignation which the manager produced on the spot. The manager then collected his belongings, told his staff what had just occurred, and said he would be in the bar down the street if anyone would like to join him afterwards. To his surprise, nobody joined him.

Despite what the manager’s staff had told him, that they would resign en masse, they balked. The manager had drawn his confidence from his staff and was sure they would follow him out the door. He was surprised when not one person followed. It was a difficult lesson to learn.

Who has got your back? As the manager discovered the hard way, nobody. There will be times in your life when you are angry over an issue or someone. Your contemporaries may encourage you to act, but the truth is, you are on your own. Think twice. If you threaten to resign or stage a coup d’etat, understand two things: someone will inevitably call your bluff, and; realize you are doing this on your own. Your friends and co-workers may not feel as passionately as you do and may fear for the safety of their careers. In other words, you are advised to speak for yourself and do not rely on the support of others. It will not materialize.

The truth is, co-workers may do favors for you, but do not expect them to watch your back when push comes to shove. In such occasions, it is every man for himself.

The lesson learned by the manager is simple: Speak from your own convictions, not someone else’s.



Tim Bryce is a writer and the Managing Director of M&JB Investment Company (M&JB) of Palm Harbor, Florida and has over 30 years of experience in the management consulting field. He can be reached at timb001@phmainstreet.com



Copyright © 2014 by Tim Bryce. All rights reserved.





Continue reading...

This is a tirade. It is one man expressing his opinion as if it were truth. I could be okay with that if this essay had value, a qualification that it fails to meet. This piece of writing amounts to fear mongering. It says, "Be Afraid! You are all Alone!" What crap! The "manager in Chicago" in this story was childish and foolish. If the story's conclusion had been "Don't be childish and foolish" I would have endorsed it wholeheartedly. But it does not. It blames the mistake of one man on the actions of others. It is always a mistake to blame your actions, or their consequences, on other people. Once again Tim Bryce misses the truth by a wide margin. Tim's lack of concern for the truth and his egotistical pandering to fear make him unsuitable for this forum.

pointwithinacircle2 said:

This is a tirade. It is one man expressing his opinion as if it were truth. I could be okay with that if this essay had value, a qualification that it fails to meet. This piece of writing amounts to fear mongering. It says, "Be Afraid! You are all Alone!" What crap! The "manager in Chicago" in this story was childish and foolish. If the story's conclusion had been "Don't be childish and foolish" I would have endorsed it wholeheartedly. But it does not. It blames the mistake of one man on the actions of others. It is always a mistake to blame your actions, or their consequences, on other people. Once again Tim Bryce misses the truth by a wide margin. Tim's lack of concern for the truth and his egotistical pandering to fear make him unsuitable for this forum.

Click to expand...

Perhaps this particular guy was the office complainer, nothing was ever his fault. It was always politics. His coworkers learned that the best way to deal with him was to nod and agree so that they could get back to work. Why argue with the guy who is never happy. With a complete lack of insight into himself, he presented his ultimatum. As almost always happens when an ultimatum is presented, he did not get the response he wanted. Moral is the story: if you find yourself about to give an ultimatum, retrace your steps to figure out where you went wrong, or be prepared to lose.

I worked in a state agency for 29 years. I have seen that story enacted many times over while I was present. The moral to the story is, indeed, correct.

I would NEVER ask anyone to walk out on a job with me. I'm not the one paying their bills or raising their families. It's not like he's William Wallace fighting a just cause. He could of informed his boss that the crew was unhappy and hoped for change, without marching everyone to the unemployment line. Telling your boss to change or else you'll walk out, will almost always equal you being shown the door.

The real question is - Do you have the ability to make positive changes without creating more upheaval?

How this has anything to do with Freemasonry, I really have no idea. Now, given that--as far as we know--Freemasonry had its beginnings as proto-unions, aka, guilds,well, I can see why hundreds might walk out with a brother. I cannot see how "every man for himself" is a Masonic construct.