Humans are not robots
Hello. I want to pay my phone bill for a month in advance.
“Sorry, the system does not allow that.”
Someone designed the system. There has to be a way to allow that.
“Sorry, the system does not allow that.”
Hello, I want to update my address.
“Sorry, there that has to be done by X. You need to call X.”
Where is X.
“X is not my department. Let me give you the number.”
I would like to avoid being put on hold again. Where is X located?
“X is not my department. They are across the hall.”
Can you take the information and walk it across the hall.”
“That is not in my job description.”
Hello, I need to close my account.
“Sorry you have to wait for your renewal date.”
You cannot close out my membership now.”
“No, the system does not allow me to do that.”
Hello, someone made a mistake. Can I see the manager?
“I can take care of that for you.”’
You can?
“Yes, would you also like to check out now? I can do that. Do you like chocolate?’
Thanks. Yes I like chocolate. Why do you ask?
“Here is a box of chocolates for you. I am sorry we made a mistake.”
What, you can do that without asking a manager? It does not mess up the system?
“No, we are treated like competent humans who can make many decisions.”
But doesn’t that make the system go crazy?
“No, we are in charge of the system and can override any decision it makes.”
The system is frequently a computer system, the micromanagement system or book of rules which has been written as if it is a novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Anyone who studied human behavior or anyone who has a wise parent or grandparent knows that humans are not robots and do not respond well to being treated as such. In the above examples, only the last person has the freedom to solve a problem and even make amends by offering a free box of chocolates. Not surprisingly, in this scenario both the employee and customer are almost always satisfied by the end of the exchange. Neither the clerk nor the customer are stressed. The clerk is likely to remain at their job longer than at a business which is designed to treat employees as robots. The customer is likely to return and is likely to market the business for free. It is a win-win for all involved.
During the current pandemic, science has told us much of what we needed to do. As new information arrived the recommendations from medical scientists was adjusted. The goal of social scientists and most people was to do all that was possible to reduce the damage and the length of the stay of the pandemic. Yet quickly it seems the goal became for the experts to make “the people” obey the recommendations. There was nothing wrong with the recommendations. What happened? The “system” became the medical scientists against the people. Politicians quickly saw an opportunity to feed this divisive approach to the pandemic. Not surprisingly, many of us humans can easily get sucked into such a dynamic and begin to act as if we are robots fighting a fabricated enemy. In this case the enemy become the ones mandating or requiring masks or vaccines. The original enemy was the virus and all its variants causing the pandemic. How did this sleight of hand happen? How has so much energy been expended on this false definition of the problem? What kept us as a nation or as communities from backing up and saying? “Oops, we need to regroup, refine the enemy and come together to decide how we are going to fight the virus together.”
Whether dealing with a pandemic or working as a robot in private business or government systems, once it is decided that we humans are robots who need to be told what to do, many of us are likely to become rigid, non-creative, and non-problem solvers. We are likely to also because unhappy, passive aggressive and angry. We may treat others as robots. Our common humanity is not evident in how we interact.
The last example I give in the introduction is from my experience in interviewing a number of individuals in a variety of locations at a chain business establishment. The employees I interview consistently report feeling as if they are a trusted, respected members of a team. They do not feel like robots.
My views on management approaches have come from some wise teachers and from my own failed experiments in falling into the trap of micromanagement; often despite my clear resolve to make sure that did not happen.
The solution for all of us is simple: back up, quit treating people as robots and open the door to reframing the problem or issue.
Written January 27, 2022
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
Hello. I want to pay my phone bill for a month in advance.
“Sorry, the system does not allow that.”
Someone designed the system. There has to be a way to allow that.
“Sorry, the system does not allow that.”
Hello, I want to update my address.
“Sorry, there that has to be done by X. You need to call X.”
Where is X.
“X is not my department. Let me give you the number.”
I would like to avoid being put on hold again. Where is X located?
“X is not my department. They are across the hall.”
Can you take the information and walk it across the hall.”
“That is not in my job description.”
Hello, I need to close my account.
“Sorry you have to wait for your renewal date.”
You cannot close out my membership now.”
“No, the system does not allow me to do that.”
Hello, someone made a mistake. Can I see the manager?
“I can take care of that for you.”’
You can?
“Yes, would you also like to check out now? I can do that. Do you like chocolate?’
Thanks. Yes I like chocolate. Why do you ask?
“Here is a box of chocolates for you. I am sorry we made a mistake.”
What, you can do that without asking a manager? It does not mess up the system?
“No, we are treated like competent humans who can make many decisions.”
But doesn’t that make the system go crazy?
“No, we are in charge of the system and can override any decision it makes.”
The system is frequently a computer system, the micromanagement system or book of rules which has been written as if it is a novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Anyone who studied human behavior or anyone who has a wise parent or grandparent knows that humans are not robots and do not respond well to being treated as such. In the above examples, only the last person has the freedom to solve a problem and even make amends by offering a free box of chocolates. Not surprisingly, in this scenario both the employee and customer are almost always satisfied by the end of the exchange. Neither the clerk nor the customer are stressed. The clerk is likely to remain at their job longer than at a business which is designed to treat employees as robots. The customer is likely to return and is likely to market the business for free. It is a win-win for all involved.
During the current pandemic, science has told us much of what we needed to do. As new information arrived the recommendations from medical scientists was adjusted. The goal of social scientists and most people was to do all that was possible to reduce the damage and the length of the stay of the pandemic. Yet quickly it seems the goal became for the experts to make “the people” obey the recommendations. There was nothing wrong with the recommendations. What happened? The “system” became the medical scientists against the people. Politicians quickly saw an opportunity to feed this divisive approach to the pandemic. Not surprisingly, many of us humans can easily get sucked into such a dynamic and begin to act as if we are robots fighting a fabricated enemy. In this case the enemy become the ones mandating or requiring masks or vaccines. The original enemy was the virus and all its variants causing the pandemic. How did this sleight of hand happen? How has so much energy been expended on this false definition of the problem? What kept us as a nation or as communities from backing up and saying? “Oops, we need to regroup, refine the enemy and come together to decide how we are going to fight the virus together.”
Whether dealing with a pandemic or working as a robot in private business or government systems, once it is decided that we humans are robots who need to be told what to do, many of us are likely to become rigid, non-creative, and non-problem solvers. We are likely to also because unhappy, passive aggressive and angry. We may treat others as robots. Our common humanity is not evident in how we interact.
The last example I give in the introduction is from my experience in interviewing a number of individuals in a variety of locations at a chain business establishment. The employees I interview consistently report feeling as if they are a trusted, respected members of a team. They do not feel like robots.
My views on management approaches have come from some wise teachers and from my own failed experiments in falling into the trap of micromanagement; often despite my clear resolve to make sure that did not happen.
The solution for all of us is simple: back up, quit treating people as robots and open the door to reframing the problem or issue.
Written January 27, 2022
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
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