Don’t give free advice.
| They won’t be used, they’ll be misunderstood, they’ll be overlooked, and they’ll be considered inappropriate. Two examples:
1. My aunt asked my wife how to lose weight. There was someone to ask and someone to answer. My wife gave one free piece of advice: “Move more, walk at least half an hour a day, or better yet, an hour.” The reaction was something like, “No, that’s not for me.” So my aunt went to see specialists, paid for their services, and… received the same advice. Now she walks. 2. A client of mine decided to ask his subordinates for daily reports on their activity, apparently because he had lost trust in them. I gave him a free piece of advice — do not do it, it will not help — and listed a number of reasons, among them that treating staff that way will be taken as a punishment. The reaction was something along the lines of “we have different views, and you, Roman, are used to working with motivated people.” The client said that he simply wants them to become more effective and that he will try to present this daily monitoring not as a punishment but as a tool for raising effectiveness. One question remains unanswered: Why on earth would his people find it useful to be more efficient if no one has ever tried to connect their own goals with the company’s objectives in their minds? Of course, I’m used to working with motivated people, as the first thing I do is motivate them. If you had sent a bill, they would have listened to the advice in a completely different way 🙂 |