Well, my last two pieces were slightly covering a different area, part rational, part philosophical; I thought let’s get back to our good old corporate world riddled with slavery, nepotism and showcasing and touch upon yet another interesting nerve that runs deep within organisations, teams and individuals and it really doesn’t matter whether you are working for an organisation which has 5 people or has 5000 people- at some or the other time you would have too experienced this space of being “entrapped to confirm” at times this being pleasant and sometime being the only reason for you too move out and ahead of the system!

Often we walk into or find ourselves part of situations where we are supposed to act- behave- orient ourselves in a particular manner- well nothing wrong with it- considering that If you are at a Red signal and driving- you would be expected to stop and you should and you indeed do (most of the times). However the challenges start when this behaviour is extrapolated and expected in the most unusual situations and circumstances where you would actually end up behaving in a very different manner (than what your intrinsic common-sense beacon would be asking you to do!)

Let me jog your memory a bit- remember the last time when you were part of that Tuesday/ Friday team meeting discussing sales targets (remaining to be achieved) and your reason for the delays in getting that revenue seemed all too same- and your boss said, “give me some other reason- if you cannot work- at least be creative at that!) and of course yes, you would have done that- shared another reason ; all this because your boss wanted to share that different reason possibly with his boss (because that is what he would have said at some or the other time!) When you sit back and think around this- irrespective of what reason was sold – there is no change in reality for when the sales revenue will come in- whether you had continued with the same reason or given this new made-up version- the money was always going to come in when it was supposed to come- heart in heart- you and your Boss always know that! This is what I call the Sales Brotherhood- and at some or the other time all of us have to be baptized through this! It teaches a few things for sure- like becoming creative with reasons – as long as you don’t begin to use this non-productive creative part to procrastinate your work- all this seems cute, innocent and fun part of a mundane stressful existence!

Let’s quickly pan across to another scenario- Remember your last flight? well the most recent one- before airlines tarted to pull the plug off because of the dreaded little Corona virus! If you have been able to steal a few minutes off your mobile device and pay attention to the screaming and yelling of the crew at the gate requesting all passengers from Zone 1 to come to the gate and you suddenly notice almost the entire waiting area has got up and like all 200 passengers are going to sit across those first 30 seats- well yes- this is something that every flight that you undertake– you will find this type of irrational behavior response over and over and over again! Given the passengers- who they are and why they are the way they are- well the airline crew at the gate also doesn’t seem to get few creative ideas to break this stalemate and they too keep on going on and on wit the same set of instructions which eventually result in same type of passenger behaviour! This is a completely non-productive, rather counter productive result when rules and guidelines are followed irrespective e of them being of no great value or use! Sure enough the airlines have a reason for having the boarding done Zone wise- the point here is “Entrapped confirmation” to follow the same process which yields poor result doesn’t allow them to think creatively beyond to overcome the problem of over-enthusiastic passengers- who at all times feel they are going to be left behind at the terminal!

Our brains are wired to naturally seek safety or at times thrill/ regressive enjoyment by following confirmations (whether good or bad) at times even if they put you in harms way- you may go ahead with (like jumping off a moving train or bus!). When it comes to the confines of the corporate world which is now (more whenever) dogged with and riddled with corporate minefields across levels and processes) it’s but natural to follow the rules without applying greater thought- the thought process is simple here” well this act or way of working never got anyone killed/ harmed- no one is complaining- there is nothing that makes it difficult for me- so why bother!” and of course, even If I were to suggest and implement something to help and make things better- Why should I?- what’s the benefit or Incentive in me for that?! More then anything else- It is this very thought process- which gets entrapped to an established “confirmation process and approach” that causes more harm and increases costs for organisations to provide services and goods to customers in the long run which goes on to do impact customers and businesses in a cycle that just seems to have a mind of its own!

So now, you may start to ask- what can be done around this- well, given the limitation of a blog- I certainly can’t elaborate strategies and intervention mechanisms that can be deployed. However what can be done is take a simple step towards “Individual Empowerment”. Organisations need to understand that, whether they touch the customer through service or goods- it is the connect and the last person standing representing them in-front of the customer who matters more then the CEO! It is this person who is going to make that all important sale click or have that deal signed off and for that person to able able to do that with a flair of confidence and charm that is available at individual disposal; the individual must be free from”entrapment to confirm”. The rules have to be simple to follow and difficult to be broken- the fewer the better! Case in point- if the airline crew at the gate announce the boarding citing seat numbers 1- 30 rather then Zone 1 the impact will be dramatic- because for a passenger who travels less often- Zone 1 is alien, but seat number is kind of printed on the mind!

I leave you here, and hope you have a blessed meeting today or this Friday and are able to wriggle yourself out of the entrapment minefields laid out for you- inn a way that helps you and the services that your represent- by empowering yourself and bringing your individuality to the forefront!

Do keep writing in and do let me know what next you would like to read about! Reach me on parimal.aluri@simplifylives.com and learn more about our consulting and training solutions that are aimed to bring about empowerment in the true sense of the word! Ciao for now!