How to Persuade a Stranger to Do the Right Thing
by Andrew J. Lenza
A fire displaced us so we’re holed up at the beach. There’s something about a Northeast tourist town in winter. You see a shadow coming towards you in the dusk. Human or zombie?
I met John Doe a block away. I was admiring a new majestic Dutch Colonial built on the oceanfront.
“You think that’s nice?” John asked, accusing.
“What’s not to like? The detail, the stonework,” I defended.
“Too damn big. It blocks my view,” John complained.
“The property is worth too much to build an understated home,” I started to explain, “makes sense to maximize land value.”
“Well, I’m adding a second floor to my house too,” John boomed. I sensed a ghoulish brag coming on.
“What about the guy behind you?” I asked.
“What about him?”
“His view. Won’t your second floor and roof line impede his view of the water?” I posed.
“Um ... yeah, I guess so,” John admitted.
Right. John had the makings of a zombie; he was eyeing my jugular. I thought about throwing my beagle at him. Let him munch on fifteen year old whiskey-cured canine while I escaped.
When I worked on a Wall Street trading desk there was a gentleman named Bobby Dac. Bobby Dac kept a worn two by four under his desk. If management announced a new policy that Bobby felt was unfair to the common ranks, he’d pull out his thumping stick and beat his Bunker Ramo terminal.
“DO AS I SAY, NOT AS I DO. DO AS I SAY, NOT AS I DO.”
Soon the two hundred person desk was joining Bobby Dac, shouting his chorus. Banging on dot matrix printers. Memos came and went. I wrote my share. There were a few two-tiered decisions that allowed the executive team to grab another privilege. We're not losing our national consciousness willingly. It's being stolen from us by the fine print.
Someone would shout, “Bobby! Get the stick out.” Then the whole Lord-of-the-Flies chant would begin.
“DO AS I SAY, NOT AS I DO. DO AS I SAY, NOT AS I DO.”
Bobby was added to the management team. No one was brave enough to relieve him of the stick. The partners of the firm believed in Bobby. Intuition prevailed. Collectively we needed to heed the message of the stick or else we would lose sight of ourselves. We would lose each other.
Bobby possessed the Everyman’s voice of Fairness; exponentially more important than the Leader’s vision of Reason. Tis better to hear truth then 'see' logic. The management team would ask Bobby if a proposal would upset the majority. Would the stick come out?
Bobby Dac's stick reminds me of my blue collar father's approach to moving a heavy object. He'd grab an iron bar and "persuade" the load to shift. Leverage is wonderful so long as you're not on the receiving end.
The problem with John Doe’s other guy approach is the rotating dormer. One day you block the view. The next day you’re blocked.
A remedy for today's national crisis is to go down to the lumber yard and buy yourself a persuader, a hefty piece of lumber to keep under the desk. This way if John Doe doesn't hear your truth or see your logic, you can knock him upside his Bunker Ramo. Call me when that happens. I'll provide the chant and roasted beagle.
-- Andrew J. Lenza
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